Story: I'm a Daemon, so what?
Disclaimer: I do not own the original setting.
Chapter 82: Oh Consort Eternal
There are up to 15 chapters ahead available at p@treon.com/theogbasilisk
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- Felix -
Luminous led me through Night Garden with my arm locked with hers. There was an illusion placed over us to avoid attention from the other Vampires. My eyes trailed over to a Vampire walking past us with a bag of blood and a straw connecting it to his mouth.
Vampires gained power by draining the power and lifeforce in one's blood, given enough time Luminous will eventually gain quite a few powerful subordinates, it was only inevitable.
"I am guessing that you had something to do with Hinata's increase in strength?" Luminous said as she gave me a side eye. "Such an evolution must have had a catalyst."
I nodded. "Back in Tempest we had a spar, I wanted to see how much she had grown with her experience in the past. After that Hinata opened up a bit to me and she basically reached a state of enlightenment of sorts causing her to awaken into Divinity."
Luminous' lips curled upwards. "I see, thank you then, the stronger Hinata is the more secure Ruberious is which will be useful with the incoming war with the Eastern Empire."
"It's no problem, she is my student too, I want to see how strong she can get."
I didn't bother trying to convince Luminous not to interfere with the war with the Eastern Empire. Even if Ruberious wasn't directly going to be attacked its allies would be, it would make them look weak if they left their allies left to rot, even if both were distinct territories of Demon Lords.
Not to mention the Eastern Empire would come for Ruberious eventually if their goal really was world domination, it was in Luminous' best interest to band together with others to defeat the East with the least amount of loss possible.
"She has also acquired an Ultimate Skill it seems."
I nodded with a smile. "Yup, and it's pretty powerful." I gave Luminous a look. "She may even be able to beat you now."
Luminous huffed. "I'll see about that."
"If you keep being a NEET she's gonna surpass you, I'm sure she is going to go into a training frenzy." I commented.
Luminous rolled her eyes. "I have also been regularly training thanks to someone annoying me." Luminous said as she glared at me. "Though perhaps it was for my own good, I had been satisfied with my level of power for far too long, it was only about time I began truly pushing myself once more, my acquisition of Asmodeus will only be the beginning." She declared with confidence.
I shot Luminous a thumbs up with my free hand. "Excellent speech."
Luminous huffed in annoyance as she continued to lead me.
"Where are we going anyway?"
Luminous tilted her head. "I do wish to see your territory sometime, however for this date I will be taking the lead."
I shrugged my shoulders. "Sure, lead on."
I was somewhat interested in what the Vampires did for entertainment, I wasn't able to see a whole lot of things last time Luminous and I went out.
Before long we arrived next to a coliseum. "I don't suppose we will be watching people beat each other up for entertainment?"
Luminous nodded with a smirk. "We will be, however the food being served here is the primary reason for this being our first stop."
"Sounds good. I am curious about how Vampires fight."
They have all sorts of neat abilities that can be taken advantage of in a fight. Luminous led me towards a side entrance while also showing me some of the local attractions.
"Is that blood ice cream?" I asked in surprise.
Luminous nodded. "Thanks to Tempest sharing its recipes we managed to replicate and change them to be more suitable to a Vampire palate."
"I see…"
Once we got to the side entrance I spotted a few guards, this must be a VIP entrance of some kind.
As we approached one of the guards stopped us. "This is an entrance for VIPs only, to proceed please show me your pass." I noticed the other Vampires eyeing us warily, it seemed they took the security of this coliseum quite seriously.
Luminous merely flashed a pass she had caused all the Vampires who saw it to freeze up. Knowing Luminous I'm sure she has some super special pass that only she can have.
"L-Lady Lu–"
"I care not for your trivial greetings. Prepare seating for both my consort and I." Luminous ordered.
"C-Consort?!" Asked the Vampire that seemed to be in charge.
"Consort?" I mimicked. I didn't know I had that status, that's neat.
Luminous glared at me. "Are you saying you are not my consort?" She asked with narrowed eyes, though I could sense a hint of vulnerability in her voice. "Will you not take responsibility for your actions?"
I shook my head. "Nothing like that. I'm more than fine with being your consort, not like I care for status anyway. I just didn't know that was what you wanted from me."
I've never been a consort before, but it's really just a fancy way of saying lover, boytoy, and everything else in between.
Awesome! I was a consort now! I always liked new titles.
"Hmph." Luminous turned back to the guard though I could see a small smile on her face, it seemed she had long since foregone hiding her emotions around me, which I had to admit did make me smile.
As lovers we should be pretty close, and while my relationship with Luminous was in its beginning stage baby steps would eventually lead to us being completely locked in.
"Well?"
"R-Right this way!" He said nervously.
As the Vampire was leading us, Luminous turned to me. "So my consort." She said with a giggle and a healthy flush.
I rolled my eyes. "Yes my queen?" I played along.
"Hmph! As your queen it is only right that I show you a good time." Luminous declared haughtily.
"I'm looking forward to it."
Luminous seemed to be super into this weird roleplay, and I didn't particularly mind, though the poor Vampire leading us was practically shivering in fear.
Hopefully he doesn't get purged or anything.
As the guard was leading us to our room I looked over the rail and could already spot a fight going on, Luminous followed my gaze. "Ah, that is just the warm up meant to excite the crowd. None of the famous fighters have taken the stage yet."
I nodded. "I see. How strong are the well known fighters?"
"I do not come here often, merely when I am extremely bored, however the last time I was present the top fighters were around the Special-A Rank." Luminous informed me.
"That's fairly good."
"Sir, Madam, we have arrived." The guard announced.
The room was fairly luxurious, there were already two bottles of wine waiting for us sitting on the center table, there were leather coaches that seemed to be made of some expensive material and the walls and floors were all tastefully decorated.
Luminous turned to the room and nodded in satisfaction before grabbing the guard by the head and forcing him to look into her eyes.
I felt her magicules fluctuate slightly. "Forget." She ordered.
The eyes of the Vampire glazed over before he blinked in confusion. He quickly looked around. "Ah, we have arrived, a waiter will come by shortly to receive your order and serve you for the duration of your stay."
Luminous nodded. "Very well."
Once the guard was gone, Luminous and I took our seats.
I relaxed against the cushion of the couch as Luminous sat next to me.
"Earlier you had said you would make an effort to gain an alliance with Dagurel, how has that been going?" Luminous asked as she poured herself and me a glass of wine.
I took a sip of wine before answering. "I told Arcueid to get on it, I'm sure she's finished drafting the contract with how hardworking she is, so I'll give that a look over before contacting Dagruel."
"That is good, the hostilities between me and Dagruel have lasted for quite some time. It would be nice to no longer have to always be wary of his forces." Luminous stated.
I felt I knew a fair amount about Luminous, and I'm sure she knew quite a bit about me. But when it comes to romantic partners, sometimes more personal details need to be shared to establish a deeper trust.
The relationships I've had before are quite different to the one I have with Luminous.
With Saeko, Raiden, Lalatina, and Arcueid, no matter my wishes the hierarchy is rather clear, which can work in a relationship, however it will twist the nature of the relationship.
With Luminous it's a bit different, I may be stronger than her but we were politically equal and I had no need to establish my "dominance" like some baboon, I was fine with an equal relationship of partners with Luminous, in fact I was a bit eager for it, it would be a nice change of pace.
"Why don't you tell me a bit about your past, Luminous? I'll share some of my own as well. I know a good deal about you but not enough to feel like I know your ins and outs. Since we have started a relationship I think we should work on establishing more trust with each other romantically while also learning to depend on each other in ways neither of us are used to." I suggested.
Luminous nodded with a small smile on her face. "That is true, I planned to bring such a thing up during our meal, however it is a relief to know that you feel the same way. Now that I have started something I would not be Luminous Valentine if I do not put my all into it." She said with pride.
I swirled my glass of wine as I waited for Luminous to continue.
"I will begin then, I am over 20,000 years old so there is quite a lot about me you do not know. I suppose I will start with my history." Luminous began.
"Heh, hag."
"What was that?" Luminous said as she glared at me.
I shot her two thumbs up as my glass of wine floated in front of me. "Don't worry! Older women are just my type!"
- Luminous Valentine -
She glared at Felix as he cheekily brought up the age difference between them. "What was that?" She demanded, her eyes narrowing with a sharp intensity.
Felix gave her two thumbs up as he levitated his glass of wine. "Don't worry! Older women are just my type!"
She knew she shouldn't, yet she felt herself blush. She could have easily controlled herself, but why live in constant control? If she couldn't allow her natural reactions to show themselves with those she cared for, she would have led a far duller life. She didn't have any blood flowing through her to blush, but her body was modeled after the standard mortal body, as were the bodies of most Spiritual Lifeforms, and so the effects of a blush were universal.
As for Felix wanting to know more about her, she thought it only natural. She was physically attracted to him, and his personality, though sometimes insufferable, intrigued her. She could admit to herself that she enjoyed his teasing, even if she would never say so aloud. After all, she had plans to mold him into her ideal consort. His personality could be overlooked, though, if she were honest, it might just be what attracted her most.
She could fix him.
She wasn't blind to her own submissive tendencies. She had once toyed with herself while grinding against a seal made of spiritrons, the searing pain adding to her pleasure. So yes, she enjoyed a bit of pain and dominance, as long as it was tempered with respect, a balance Felix seemed capable of maintaining. So yes, she did enjoy a little bit of pain and dominance when it came to her own pleasure, she knew herself well enough to admit that.
Not to mention that Luminous was fairly certain that Hinata held certain feelings for the Daemon in front of her, Luminous had realized that perhaps Chloe may be out of her reach, but the same could not be said for Hinata, as long as she played her cards right perhaps she could end up with both of the people she loved, but she would let Hinata make her moves without disturbance… for now.
The most damning fact of all was how her very spirit seemed to vibrate in need whenever Felix was near. Before their night together, the urge had been manageable, easy to brush off. But afterward, something had changed. Her Spiritual Body craved his presence, rebelling against her attempts to maintain control. She had no idea what he had done to her, but she found that she didn't particularly mind. She had made more fond memories with him in the present than she had in the past few millennia.
Luminous cleared her throat, taking a sip of her blood wine to steady herself. "Very well, I will begin then."
Once she knew Felix was paying attention, she began recounting a bit of her past. She was certain Felix likely knew most of what she would be sharing, however it was good to establish a base for their future talks today.
"As you know, I was created by Twilight Valentine, though he considered me his daughter. I was their other half, their alter ego, born through a complicated process that made me the only other High Blood in existence." She began.
"Right." Felix nodded.
"Twilight was responsible for creating the original races that populated this world. At first Twilight was a truly enjoyable person to be around." She said, a small smile growing on her face as she thought back to when that being acted like a true parent.
Felix blinked in confusion which was natural. She normally only ever told people what a vile individual Twilight was, but they weren't always like that.
"Once upon a time, there was a side to Twilight that was truly lovable, yet one day Twilight changed all of a sudden. It was as if that former being was a mere illusion. Twilight began holding little to no regard for life, if an experiment of his was a failure they would abandon them to the wilds, leaving them to fend for themselves. Failures did not deserve their attention in their own words." She said casually.
Felix raised a brow. "He already seems like a dickhead. He shouldn't create life if he wasn't prepared to take responsibility for it in some way. Though I do wonder why he would have changed?"
Luminous shrugged her shoulders. "I do not know what happened to him, but after that, that is just the way he was, irresponsible to a fault."
"Eventually I got fed up at his constant violation of life and his blatant desire to use me in his experiments, so I erased him."
Felix clapped. "Sounds reasonable enough to me."
She raised a brow. "Not many would think the same, they were the being that kickstarted life in this world and beyond. That is the reason Dagruel and I do not get along as well, he was quite close to Twilight and did not take Twilight's death well, even though he was beginning to get worried about Twilight's change, yet Dagruel would not abandon him."
"Ah, so that's why you said he was hostile to you, your fertile lands on top of killing his friend." Felix said in realization.
She nodded. "Correct."
"If you ever need help against him just let me know, don't let your pride prevent you from asking me for help, we're partners now right? If we can't ask each other for help then this relationship is doomed from the start."
Her lips curled upwards at Felix's support as she internally agreed with his words. She could put her pride aside and rely on Felix alone at least. Well Felix and Hinata. "I have made as many preparations as I can in the case that he does attack me, however I will inform you if I need your assistance."
Felix nodded in satisfaction. "Good, from the amount of power I sensed from his back at the Walpurgis he is strong, incredibly strong."
She nodded. "I am well aware of his strength, he is one third of the Mad Titan who once rampaged through the world, he retains a portion of his power still and is not to be underestimated."
"Continuing on, after that I subdued Valentine, one of the Vampire True Ancestors and split him into Roy and Louis. After some time I encountered Gunther who wished to serve me, and he has continued to do so ever since then. You likely know all of this so I will summarize, I ended up establishing my own territory, Night Rose which was the domain of the Vampires under me. I joined the Demon Lord Council and continued to do as I wished for thousands of years, that is until Chronoa arrived.
Afterwards as you know the filthy Lizard attacked, I established Luminism and Night Garden in the bowels of Luminism leading to today." She finished.
Felix sighed. "I seriously have a hard time picturing the amount of time that passed for you." He shrugged his shoulders. "Guess I'm just not used to immortality."
She nodded. "As a former Human I suppose that does make sense, but you will grow into it, I am certain you will not even notice the years passing, it is that way for me as well."
Felix nodded. "Perhaps. So what did you do for entertainment back then? You couldn't have just continued with your NEET ways for 20,000 years."
She scoffed, her lips curving into a smirk. "I've had my share of… distractions over the millennia. But perhaps I'll share those stories another time, if you wish to hear them."
Felix raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Now you've piqued my interest."
She chuckled softly, swirling her wine in her glass. "It's good to keep some things a mystery, don't you think? After all, where's the fun in revealing all my secrets at once? I might let a few slip if you're particularly charming."
Felix grinned. "Challenge accepted."
Luminous smiled, a hint of mischief dancing in her eyes. "I'll hold you to that. Why don't you begin to recount a bit of your past? It is quite vexing how you know so much about me, yet I know almost nothing about you in comparison other than some vague details."
She didn't hide that she was eager to learn a bit more about Felix in depth, she knew his personality, she knew some of his likes and dislikes, but she also wanted to know a bit more about his background.
Felix nodded with a smile. "Sure, it may not be quite what you think but I owe you at least that much."
"I guess I'll tell you about my original world to start. Hinata told you a bit about her world, right?" Felix asked.
She nodded. "She did."
"Well my original world was basically that. Perhaps there were supernatural elements in the background, I'm not sure, but all in all, at least to me it was a normal world. I lived my life, I woke up, went to school, hung out with friends, it was a pretty alright life all things considered. I don't think it was what I craved deep inside, but it was fine." Felix said in reminiscence.
She raised a brow. "I did not think you would live such a life."
Felix shrugged his shoulders. "I was different back then, less confident, more normal, more… average."
"Fufufu, to hear you call yourself average is truly a wonder, I did not think your ego would allow such a thing. I will remember this memory fondly."
Felix rolled his eyes. "Oh shove it. Continuing on, I ended up dying at about 16 years old, as for how, that doesn't matter in this story. After dying I reincarnated as a Human in another world."
Her lips twitched as she took in what Felix had said. He died when he was… 16? She did not know how long Felix spent in the Daemon Realm, even he himself likely had no idea how long he spent there, so for all she knows he could be less than 20 years old.
He looked to be in his mid twenties going by human age, however appearance was not a good indicator of age, there was Gunther who looked like an old man while she herself looked to be in her mid twenties even though her and Gunther were of similar age. Guy himself was eons old and looked to be in his prime as well, safe to say appearance was not reliable when it came to figuring out someone's age.
Had she robbed the cradle as the mortals say?
Her eyes widened. "That was not when you reincarnated as a Daemon?"
Felix shook his head. "Nope, that was after I died a second time."
She didn't know Felix was incredibly unlucky, or lucky.
"In my second life it was much the same, I had a good mother, but she passed away." Felix sighed in sadness. Her hand slowly snaked over into his, he shot her a quick wing and a smile before continuing. She knew the pain of losing a parent, she would forever deny it, but losing the Twilight that truly cared for her to the being he had become had hurt. "This world however I later found out did have the supernatural."
"Oh? I am aware that some of Veldanava's other creations are similar to this world, with both having supernatural beings, but I have never heard about one myself." She said.
He nodded. "Yeah, it's definitely an interesting world, a world of Curses, and of Sorcerers."
Felix went on to explain the world that he called 'Jujutsu Kaisen'. She became more and more interested the more she learned.
In the midst of his story they were interrupted by the waiter, but once she shooed him away after taking their orders Felix had continued.
Jujutsu Sorcerers that had Innate Techniques, which reminded her of Skills if somewhat different in nature. There was cursed energy which was born from the negative emotions of the populace, Cursed Spirits which seemed similar to Monsters that were born from the magicules of the strong. She learned that Felix had returned to this world of his at some point in the past, through his ability to go to other dimensions no doubt.
The world was truly an intriguing one, one with its own history and story to be told.
He told her a bit about the friend he had made in that world, the so-called 'Honored One'.
He told her about Sukuna, she had known about the butler that Felix had gotten, a Daemon of extreme levels of power, however she had not known of his origins until now.
She had thought him to be an aberration of a Daemon similar to Beretta, but it seems Sukuna was far more unique than she thought.
Then there was perhaps one of the most interesting things of all… Domain Expansions.
The pinnacle of Jujutsu Sorcery, and she could understand why it was called such. It was truly a marvel to hear about, and she couldn't help but consider how to go about recreating such an ability in this world.
It would require much experimenting and patience, but she was Luminous Valentine.
She listened as Felix described his death in his second life, and she couldn't help but laugh. "Fufufu, my Felix dying as a hero, who would have known."
Felix raised a brow. "Your Felix?" He said with an amused smile.
Her eyes widened in alarm as she realized what she had said. "Forget that!" She demanded.
"Hehe, whatever you say, I'll remember the cute blush on your face and that's more than enough for me." Felix laughed.
"Do what you will." She huffed, even as a small smile graced her face.
She took a sip of her wine as Felix continued.
"After dying to truck-kun." She raised a brow at how Felix referred to the cause of his death.
"Truck-kun? What does that mean?" She asked, assuming it was some obscure reference from his past life.
Felix chuckled at her confusion. "Ah, Truck-kun... You see, in my past life, there's this running joke. Whenever someone in a story gets hit by a truck and then wakes up in some crazy new world, we blame it on 'Truck-kun.' It's like this mysterious, all-powerful entity disguised as an ordinary truck, whose sole mission is to transport people to their next life, usually one filled with magic, swords, and over-the-top adventures."
He leaned in, grinning. "So when I say I died to Truck-kun, I'm not just saying I got hit by a truck. I'm saying that was my ticket out of my boring old life and into this one. I may have had good times, but in the end I wouldn't change a thing that happened, and truck-kun played a factor in my appearance in this world."
She raised a brow. Truly Felix's previous world had the oddest things. "I see, then if the opportunity presents itself I will have to thank this truck-kun."
"Hahaha, you and me both." Felix responded. "Anyways after that I ended up reincarnating as a Daemon in the Daemon Realm, I was a mere Lesser Daemon at first."
A Lesser Daemon? To progress from a meager Lesser Daemon to what Felix had become now was incredibly impressive, no matter what Felix thought of himself, he was by no means "average" as he had said he was.
"I was blessed with some incredible Skills to start out with, it turns out that I was from one of the big clans I talked about when telling you about the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, I was from the Gojo Clan, and the Limitless Innate Technique was laying dormant within me, the Voice of the World brought out my potential which allowed me to stand a chance in the Daemon Realm."
"Limitless hmm? The same technique as that Satoru man then." Limitless from what Felix described offered impressive levels of Spatial Manipulation. Nothing she hadn't heard of before, but it was still impressive. Felix had managed to grow the capabilities of Limitless into what he had now, making him in her eyes unmatched when it came to Spatial Manipulation.
"Yeah, Limitless was incredible, but that wasn't my only Skill, I also had a Skill that increased my comprehension at the beginning." Felix explained.
"I see."
Felix then went on to share about his experiences in the Daemon Realm, about how he had gotten cocky and been ambushed by multiple Lesser Daemons, as well as a single Lesser Daemon on the cusps of evolution.
He managed to pull off a lucky win and was taken care of by another Daemon that was once a Human as well which caused her to consider just how many Humans reincarnated into other races in this world.
Eventually he and his benefactor split off, until eventually Felix was summoned to the Cardinal World.
"That is quite the origin story as you put it."
Felix nodded. "It's not the most impressive, but it's mine."
She nodded. "Thank you for sharing it with me."
Felix nodded at her thanks, she turned towards the viewing panel, the main fights had not started yet so there was still time.
"What do you think Hinata is doing?" Felix asked.
"Knowing that girl I'm sure she is catching up on everything she has missed." Luminous guessed.
- Hinata Sakaguchi -
She folded her hands on the table in front of her as she waited for the last member of the newly renamed 'Nine Great Saints' to take their seats.
She sat at the head of the table, to her left sat Saare, and Grigori. Previously Glenda sat next to Grigori before Felix got his hands on her.
She knew very well how Felix ended up acquiring Glenda as a subordinate, Glenda wasn't as slick as she thought she was, Hinata had long known that she had other motives for joining the Ten Great Saints back then, she just didn't care as long as it didn't impact Glenda's duties.
She hadn't imagined that Glenda was under Granbell's thumb however and that she was practically enslaved by him. She bore no ill will to Glenda so she could only be happy for her former subordinates freedom.
On her right row was Leonard followed by Arnaud, Litus, Fritz, Garde, and Bacchus.
Everyone had been called back from their stations for this meeting, even the ones stationed in Tempest thanks to the teleportation circles linking Tempest, Azeroth, and Ruberious together.
She noticed Saare looking at her with an ashen expression for some reason, curious, she would have to inquire as to why he looked like that.
She felt Saare's Unique Skill attempt to analyze her Multi-Dimensional Barrier and just raised a brow as she simply willed for his Skill to fail.
As an Ultimate Awakened her understanding of the Laws of the World allowed her to easily brush off the effects of Skills as long as they didn't reach close to the Ultimate level.
She knew that Saare's Skill specialized in copying Arts, however he didn't master them instantly, he merely gained an understanding of the Art in question, to truly master an Art would depend on his affinity for the Art and his own efforts.
She guessed that Saare was attempting to analyze the Dimension Fault aspects of Multi-Dimensional Barrier.
"Hello everyone, it has been quite some time." She began.
"Indeed it has been some time, Lady Hinata." Leonard responded. "I am glad to see that you are in good health, we had been wondering what had happened to you after the attack on the Tempest Founding Festival."
She already had an excuse prepared, and while she disliked lying she would do so if she had to. "I was dealing with an enemy that had caused me some injuries that I needed time to recover from."
"For even Holy Magic to fail, you must have truly faced someone incredibly." Arnaud said. "And it seems you came out on top as well."
Her lips twitched hearing Arnaud, she wasn't one to take credit for something she didn't do so she shook her head. "I did not defeat my foe, Felix had saved me."
"The Demon Lord?!" Garde shouted. He was always one of the ones most against Ruberious' alliance with Tempest and Azeroth.
She nodded. "Yes, Demon Lord Felix White has become a rather close ally of mine."
"B-But he's a Demon Lord!" Garde objected.
She noticed quite a few people turn away from Garde, the ones who knew who the god Luminous truly was.
Not every member of the Nine Great Saints could be trusted with that information, due to Garde's impatience and his clear revulsion for Demon Lords Luminous decided not to inform him of her identity as she had others.
"Indeed he is the Demon Lord who saved my life." She stated with conviction.
"I don't know Demon Lord Felix all that well but he seemed like an alright guy to me. Looking back on my first encounter with him I would expect one of his nature to immediately kill me, however he sought to teach me a lesson so as to preserve my life in the future." Bacchus added.
Arnaud nodded. "Indeed, he may be a Daemon and a Demon Lord, but I do not think he is inherently malevolent and demonic, he seems to be a rather chaotic being instead."
Chaotic is one way to call Felix.
Garde looked at the two with a flabbergasted expression on his face before crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. "Fine, I can see that I'm outnumbered here, besides this meeting isn't about the Demon Lord Felix or anything is it?" Garde asked as he looked at her.
She shook her head. "It is not, I heard from someon–" Before she could continue she heard Saare speak up.
"Y-You did it… didn't you?" He whispered with awe coloring his face.
She looked at him in confusion. "Did what?"
"You've become a Complete Saint." Saare voiced out with certainty.
Hinata raised a brow at Saare's incorrect assessment, though she couldn't blame Saare for that. Thanks to her spar with Felix she had managed to rein her Divinity in so that she didn't accidentally kill any weaker lifeform around her.
Though she didn't have perfect control of her power, and she doubted she would for a long time, she was releasing some of her power which must have been enough for Saare to feel the difference to her nature and come to an incorrect conclusion.
Her energy hadn't completely stabilized either yet, it was still slowly increasing, Felix had said he expected her EP to stabilize at around 3,400,000, and that is without the added on energy from her equipment.
Her EP would have been even higher, however forming an Ultimate Skill of her own reduced her own energy considerably.
"What?!"
"Truly?!"
"As expected of Lady Hinata."
"That's enough." She interrupted before things could get out of hand. She then turned to look at Saare and nodded. "I have evolved past my previous state." She stated, not wanting to tell another lie.
Saare sighed. "I see… it seems you have truly surpassed me then."
She didn't respond, she knew Saare's goal of eventually challenging her and taking back his position of leader.
Saare was fairly powerful, especially for his age, he was one of the youngest Saints in history, if he had time to grow he could become a fearsome fighter, she just had an unfair advantage.
She had one of the strongest Demon Lords in existence as her teacher, and she had centuries of experiences as a Hero, they just could not be compared anymore, but she wasn't going to leave Saare with nothing, her entire purpose for this meeting was to establish some new training norms among the Nine Great Saints while simultaneously testing all of them.
"The reason I called for this meeting is to test you all."
"Test us?" Fritz asked.
She nodded. "Yes. I have heard that you all have been slacking in your training somewhat. I will be correcting that all while seeing how far all of you have progressed."
Saare clicked his tongue. "Tsk. Fine then, I'm not dumb enough to see that fighting you would be good for my own growth."
She nodded with an approving smile. Her and Saare may never truly get along, but he was a good subordinate and he could be reasonable most of the time, he didn't let his wounded pride get in the way of his objectives which was something to be admired.
"It has been a long time since I have dueled you Lady Hinata, I am eager to learn under you once more." Leonard said.
Once she got everyone's agreement she stood up. "Excellent, we can discuss other things after our spar. Come, follow me." She said as she created a portal leading to their exclusive training ground.
No one was all that impressed with the portal, but she didn't expect them to be, short range teleportation was fairly easy to do after all, it was the longer ranges that made teleportation truly difficult.
Once everyone had walked through the portal, she closed it behind them.
She took her spot on the other side of the training field. The eight others stood across from her.
"In what order did you wish for us to fight?" Arnaud asked.
She stifled a smirk. "You can all come at me at once." She said with confidence.
"It seems someone has gotten too confident." Saare said as he narrowed his eyes.
His Elemental Armament, an inferior version of the Holy Armament she used, formed on his torso.
The Elemental Armament allowed the user to to bring out nearly 100% of their contracted Elemental's power when in use. Along with that, the Elemental Armament also imbued the user's weapon with Holy Power which allows the user to bypass most Resist Skills, making the users of the Elemental Armament the natural enemy of anything Non-Human.
In exchange for the boost in strength, the Elemental Armament cost a significant amount of energy to maintain, so it was not suited for drawn out battles. Due to Saare's nature as an Incomplete Saint he could maintain the Elemental Armament's power longer than most. However, even that didn't make him immune to its draining effects.
Saare drew his blade as he stood at the ready. The rest of the Nine Great Saints also followed after Saare and equipped their armor and weapons.
"We will not go easy on your Lady Hinata." Bacchus warned.
"Good, you will need to do your best." She goaded.
"Draw your weapon." Saare demanded, his voice low and tense. His eyes narrowed with determination as he faced her down.
With a flick of her wrist, Hinata extended her hand, and the hilt of her Divine Moonlight rapier materialized in her palm, its ethereal glow casting an otherworldly light around her.
Saare's eyes widened in shock, the grip on his sword tightening as he muttered. "Th-That's...!"
The sight of her God-Grade rapier was enough to shake even the most confident of warriors. Hinata knew it was unfair to wield such a weapon against Saare and his team, who were equipped only with Unique-Grade gear. Yet, she would hold back, ensuring the fight remained a learning experience for them and an opportunity for her to attune herself to Divine Moonlight.
"Do not worry, I will hold back." She reassured them, her voice calm and steady. But her words only seemed to stoke the fire in Saare's heart. With a roar that echoed through the training ground, he surged forward, his speed generating a sonic boom that startled the others.
The training ground's barriers absorbed the shockwave, sparing the surroundings from destruction.
Hinata stood her ground, not bothering to don her armor, it would be overkill. Divine Moonlight blazed with Fighting Spirit as she met Saare's strike with the same elegance she had shown in her spar with Felix. The moment their blades clashed, a strong gust of wind surged out from the pressure, small sparks flying and illuminating the two of them for a moment.
That single moment of contact was enough for Saare to immediately sense the vast difference in their strength, her swordsmanship had grown astronomically in the past, she resided in the realms of truly divine swordsmanship in Felix's own words. If she wished she could cleave an entire mountain rage in half merely with her weapon and nothing else at this point.
Saare quickly leaped back, eyes wide with realization. He had put his all into the strike, and she hadn't even needed to take a step back to stabilize herself. She simply stood there, her posture relaxed as she held her ground.
Hinata allowed him to retreat, observing him with a measured gaze. The purpose of the fight was to allow them to learn and for her to gauge their combat styles. If he got demotivated so quickly she would have been left disappointed in him.
Now that she had returned to the future, aware of the challenges that lay ahead, she was determined to prepare Ruberious for the impending threat of the Eastern Empire.
She didn't doubt that Ruberious would get involved with the war with the Eastern Empire if things got dire. Luminous would wait to see how Felix and Rimuru could handle it. However, if they seemed to be having trouble, she would join without hesitation, the Nine Great Saints needed to be powerful enough for that.
"She's strong, much stronger than I thought." Saare announced, his voice tinged with awe and frustration.
"Tsk. It seems she wasn't just boasting when she challenged us." Garde muttered, clicking his tongue in irritation.
"We need to work together to stand a chance against Lady Hinata." Leonard suggested, his eyes never leaving Hinata's form.
Arnaud nodded, shifting his stance slightly as he prepared. "Right. Let's go together."
With that, all of them dashed forwards.
The group moved in unison, their determination palpable. Leonard's armor fused with his Elemental, allowing him to channel its full power, a feat the others mirrored. Their auras flared as they called upon their respective Elementals.
Arnaud with Wind, Bacchus with Earth, Litus with Water, Garde with Flame, Fritz with Wind, Grigori with Earth, and Saare with Wind.
Their power surged, transforming them into formidable opponents as they channeled the formidable power of a Greater Elemental on top of their own rising power.
There was a reason that it was believed that they used to be able to challenge the Demon Lord Council, even if Hinata knew that to be completely untrue, but that did not detract from their prowess.
Greater Elementals on their own could threaten an entire Kingdom if left unchecked, and now each of them possessed that level of power at minimum.
Each one could match a Calamity-Class foe, while Saare barely edged into Disaster-Class, in the past when in this state she had to take Saare seriously, relying on Usurper to weaken his powers enough for her to come out as the victor, but now that was no longer necessary.
Hinata dashed forward, deliberately maintaining a speed they could follow. Even so, her movements were a blur.
She moved across the battlefield in an unpredictable pattern, dodging and weaving through those charging at her, yet as she noticed a blade heading in her direction, she couldn't help but smile. Fritz had correctly guessed the path that she was taking.
It was a small test to see who had been paying attention to their previous fights since this was a move she had used against them in the past. She would have to make sure to praise him after the fight, yet she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind as she sidestepped the attack.
Using her free arm, she sent Fritz flying with a well-placed punch. His body crashed into the barrier of the training ground.
"Shit! She's behind us!" Saare yelled in panic, his voice echoing across the training ground.
With a flourish of her blade, Hinata unleashed an Aura Slash at Saare. He barely managed to raise his Fighting Spirit-coated blade in time to block, but her attack tore through his defenses, sending his weapon flying from his grip.
"Gah!" Saare cried out, clutching the deep wound left by her strike.
"I was serious when I said this would be a test. I will not hold back completely." She reprimanded him, her voice carrying a steely resolve.
Saare gritted his teeth, using Holy Magic to heal himself. Hinata shifted her focus to the rest of the team, who were closing in on her.
They converged, a coordinated assault designed to overwhelm her.
Leonard was the first to attack, clearly trying to draw her attention to him as he began his assault. His attacks were all strong and precise, yet the subtle glances he let escape betrayed his true intentions.
Taking a mental note for later, she saw him conjure spears of light, only for her to dispel them with a simple breath, a trick she had learned from Felix. It infuriated Leonard just as much as it had her when she first encountered it.
Even without Leonard's accidental slip-up, she could hear the subtle sounds of the ground being disturbed behind her. So, with a swift movement she jumped into the air, spinning in the air to look down as Garde released a concentrated Flame Breath right where she had stood moments before.
Felix had taught her the importance of caution, to focus on even the smallest of changes, why take a hit if it could be avoided? Though, right after he said to ignore that advice when showboating.
The moment she began to fall, she saw Litus leap upwards by expelling Fighting Spirit from the soles of her feet. The small girl was moving with surprising speed. Keeping her guard up as she continued to jump in the air in the most unpredictable pattern she could to avoid any surprise hits from Hinata.
When in range of the falling Hinata, who was simply allowing her body to freefall, Litus raised her blade upwards and slashed downwards toward her. Yet with a simple flick of her hand, she used her rapier to deflect Litus' attack.
As Litus' blade was pushed back, it left her wide open for a follow-up as Hinata created a magic circle in front of her, which sent the girl flying away with a burst of wind. Another thing to add to her list of things to improve upon. Litus could have used the force of her own deflection to send a kick, but she had allowed herself to be left wide open.
As she descended, she deftly parried the magic attacks hurled at her. She admired their effort. At least they weren't letting her descent go unchallenged. However, their attempts were futile.
Landing softly on the ground, Hinata smiled as she felt the ground under her turn soft, almost liquid. Bacchus was trying to make her lose her footing as he caused countless earth spikes to pierce the soft ground directly aimed at her.
Using the very spikes meant to harm her as a platform, she jumped before casting a spell of her own to shatter the spikes, allowing her to land on the ground once again, unharmed.
She turned to face the eight of them. Saare and Litus had recovered, but their faces were pale with the realization of the challenge they faced.
"Come," she said, a glint of determination in her eyes. "We are just getting started."
Each of them exchanged wary glances before charging together. This time, their attacks were more synchronized, their strategies more refined. Leonard thrust his blade forward, aiming for her midsection while Bacchus tried to trap her feet with rising earth.
Hinata parried Leonard's weapon with a flick of her wrist and leaped over Bacchus's earth trap, her movements a blur of grace and precision.
As she landed, Arnaud's wind blades sliced through the air towards her. They arched through the air, surrounding her before the winds changed, and they all attacked at once. She quickly spun, her rapier still alight with Fighting Spirit as she quickly deflected each wind blade in one swift and graceful movement.
As the broken wind blades harmlessly passed by her as nothing but a gust, Hinata saw a flaming wall erupt around her as the temperature spiked by thousands of degrees. She immediately realized that Garde was attempting to engulf her in a fiery inferno.
Conjuring a barrier of pure Holy Power, Hinata dispersed the flames around her, revealing that Garde had only used it as a temporary cover to try to sneak an attack with his spear.
Dodging the spear, she grabbed it with her free hand as it passed by her. Her eyes narrowed before she sent a kick to his stomach. Garde lost his breath, but he didn't let go of his weapon. That was until Hinata raised her rapier and forced him to jump backward.
As Garde landed, he felt the back of the spear hit him in the forehead as Hinata threw it at him as if it were a javelin, sending him crashing to the ground.
Using the opening when Hinata had thrown Garde's spear, Fritz and Grigori flanked her. Yet even then, Hinata's rapier danced between them, blocking and countering with such speed that they struggled to keep up.
Though their attacks were coordinated, they were not exploiting the small opening she had given them as she had hoped. Taking a few more mental notes, she ducked underneath Grigori's halberd and sent a well-placed kick that sent him sprawling.
Blocking Fritz's attack, she pushed him back using her own assault, sending countless feints that forced him to dodge until she finally sent a slash. Fritz's mind had been so focused on blocking the countless feints that when the real attack came, he was left wide open.
She watched as Fritz staggered back from her strike. Hinata straightened, lowering her rapier slightly as her opponents caught their breath. She could see how they realized just how out of their league she was, but she could also see their desire to improve. She was glad she had such wonderful subordinates.
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Author's Note:
Sup guys, back with another chapter of Daemon.
This chapter was about giving some more character development to luminous, I had said I would be expanding on some characters a few chapters back and so part of this chapter was that.
Hopefully some of you were able to understand her a bit more, and yes, Lover is having some effects on Luminous lol. You don't just flood her soul with pleasure without some side effects, Felix really hasn't learned his lesson.
I'm hoping to slowly expand on their relationship over time, having them grow closer over time rather than just immediately being tied to the hip, character development and all that.
I did want to mix things up a bit with the Hinata scene as well which I hope you all enjoyed.
Anyways, thanks for reading, peace.
Thanks to @Salante and @Flowerman for beta'ing this chapter.