Gladio Bael, Lion of Bael -
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Gladio was waiting for Tobio to wake up. He was mentally reviewing the last six years. Acquiring Jeanne, Siegfried, and Bova had netted him some nice AP. But it was conquering all one hundred and fifty levels of Tannin's mountain and outlasting Tannin that had truly banked him serious AP.
And it had led to him getting Bova and also becoming an Ultimate-Class Devil before he reached a decision. He wanted to beat every Dragon King. He'd outlasted Tannin, defeating him by virtue of being able to regenerate and heal faster, and probably because of a lot of luck. But now that he was 14, the time had come to track down Kuroka.
If he wanted to get his hands on Valerie Tepes, then he needed Georg and Kuroka. And he'd been tracking the Black Cat for a while now.
First things first, though: Spinning the Wheel for the first time in a long ass time.
-||- Spinning the Wheel -||-
150 AP used, 7700 Total AP Remaining
Reward Granted:
Presence (Passive/Active): When you step into a room, you immediately capture the attention of the people in it. You cut an impressive figure, and combined with Dancers' Grace, Charm, and others, it's a truly powerful skill.
Beastmaster (Passive): You have a natural gift in taming, forming bonds with, and commanding beasts and monsters.
Dragons don't count.
Eagle Vision (Passive): Much like Ezio and others you know possess Eagle Vision. Can be paired with Beastmaster to see through the eyes of beasts.
Not bad overall; all three were relatively useful, and two of the three even had a reciprocal relationship.
''Boss! Sparkler's here; he wants to talk.'' He turned to see Jeanne and nodded.
''Keep an eye on the new kid. Let me know if and when he wakes up.'' He said, and Jeanne gave him a two-finger salute before he left the room to meet with Georg.
He arrived to find Georg waiting patiently for him.
''That was quick. What changed?'' He asked as Georg ran his hand through his hair.
''Is that offer still valid? I've had it with the same old monotonous debates.'' Georg said tiredly, and Gladio withdrew his Bishop and tossed it to Georg, who reincarnated himself in short order.
''Welcome to the Peerage, Georg. You are now my fourth Mutation piece and the second Longinus user in the Peerage.'' He said, knowing full well that it has to be some kind of record, getting two Longinus Users into his Peerage on the same day. Guess we should begin to track down our next member. It'll piss my father off, but it'll be worth it. '' He admitted.
Feat Achieved: Reincarnate Georg as a Peerage Member, 350 AP granted, 8050 total AP.
Blinking the notification away, Gladio proceeds to unlock Georg's Potential and explain more of his plans.
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Jeanne, Pawn of Bael -
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What a difference two years made. Two years ago, she was a top exorcist in the French Catholic church, but a chance encounter with Gladiolus and her somewhat overly praising report of him had led to her being excommunicated. Well, maybe more accurately, her excommunication was as a result of it getting out that she had one of his flyers and refused to use it to ambush and kill him. Gladio was different.
He put on a mask around his own kind, but with them he was just Gladio, and she'd be lying if she didn't have some feelings for him. Something she wasn't alone in having within the Peerage; Kuisha herself clearly held affection for their master.
But Gladio was special; he'd gifted her Joyeuse, a Holy Sword that he'd turned into a Demonic Sword, as well as the Holy Sword Hauteclere that he'd acquired after defeating Teodoro Legrenzi in battle after they recruited Sieg.
Sieg was special too; he wanted to become worthy of Gram, which their master possessed, and was training under Souji-Sama like her, in an attempt to prove worthy of the Demonic Emperor Sword. Though in her case, she just wished to improve her compatibility with Joyeuse and Hauteclere.
''Ugh, where am I?'' Her attention snapped to their newest member.
''Huh, awake already, huh?'' She said.
''Who are you?'' The new guy was guarded, looking at her warily.
''Name's Jeanne, I'm Gladi's Pawn, well, one of them. And I am the reincarnation of Joan of Arc and the wielder of the Demonic Sword Joyeuse and the Holy Sword Hauteclere.'' She introduced herself proudly, summoning both blades.
''Uuuhhh…?'' She pouted at his lack of awe!
''Ugh, fine. Let's go meet the boss!'' She grabbed his arm and led him to the boss.
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Gladio Bael, Lion of Bael -
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Shortly after beginning his explanation to Georg, Jeanne had arrived with Tobio Ikuse, and that got paused to begin discussing other things. Kuisha poured them both some tea and served some lemon cakes.
''...That about covers it regarding your granny, family, and Longinus.'' He said, finishing his explanation.''
''I can't believe it. Why wouldn't granny ever tell me?'' Tobio said.
''She was protecting you. The Himejima Clan is by far the most ass-backwards of the Five Principal Clans. My Cousin, Rias Gremory, has your Second Cousin as her Queen. Akeno. Akeno's mother was a Shrine maiden of the Himejima who fell in love with the Fallen Angel Cadre Baraqiel. But the clan head, your distant uncle Suo Himejima, is a racist piece of shit who sentenced Baraqiel and Akeno to death, and then, when Lady Shuri refused to let them ''cleanse the bloodline'' she was killed by them.'' He air-quoted the cleanse the bloodline part to show his feelings on the matter. ''For you to be born with not just a Sacred Gear, but a Longinus, on top of the fact your Longinus has its roots in Greek Mythology as well as Christian, your clan would have demanded your head the moment it came out if your grandmother wasn't already exiled.'' Sealing it with a Buddhist Ceremony saved your life, but in the process made you more susceptible to illness. Now that your Gear is active again, you'll gain the vitality and robustness the Himejima are partially famous for.'' He explained.
''This is a lot to take in.'' Tobio said after a few moments.
''I understand, but before I have you shown to your rooms, we should discuss Sae Toujou.'' Tobio straightened up. ''I have it on good authority that the less-than-wonderful Wizards of Oz are connected to the disappearance of your classmates. So while you rest, Georg and I are going to meet with the head of Grauzauberer, and we're going to prepare a strike force with the head of the Magician Organization and others. When you're ready, Siegfried and Kuisha will begin training you, and I will unlock your latent potential.'' He told Tobio.
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Gladio, accompanied by Georg and Siegfried, kicked in Mephisto's door, caring little that he was in a meeting. Imagine his surprise to find Lavinia Reni.
''Sorry to interrupt, but I don't really care. The Bael Clan's going to war; I'm just here to tell you not to intervene. And before you ask why you should care, our top two targets are Walburga and Augusta. The ones responsible for the heavenly Aloha Incident. He turned on his heels and left. He'd reached the end of the corridor before he heard Lavinia calling for him to stop.
''I said stop!'' Gladio froze in his tracks.
Literally.
''I'm impressed, cute stuff; not many people can physically stop me, magically or otherwise.'' He praised before slipping past the first gate and breaking the hold. ''Unfortunately for you, I'm not averse to hitting girls. It'll be a damn shame to damage such a pretty face, but I will not bend my knee to anyone, nor be made to bend.
''I don't want to fight.'' Lavinia said. ''I just want answers. You said you're going after Augusta? I want in.''
''No.'' The words left his lips immediately.
''But-'' He raised a hand.
''You managed to physically stop me. Not easy, and impressive all things considered. But not enough. I have Canis Lykaon and Dimension Lost by my side, and with just a snap of my fingers, the Lion King answers my call. I won't let someone unknown and unproven enter my war.'' Says Gladio as Georg leans in close.
''Her name is Lavinia Reni; she's the Demise Girl. She's got the Ice Doll.'' Georg whispered.
''Prove you can last ten minutes against the Lion of Bael, and you can come along.'' Georg raised his hand and teleported them to an alternate dimension.
''Fight's not over till it's over.'' Gladio said as he released one of his seals, freeing up some of his movements and increasing his power before slipping into the Second Gate and launching himself at Lavinia, who immediately summoned the Absolute Demise Doll.
He was proud to say that he was a training maniac; this was practice.
Nothing more, nothing less.
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Gladio panted tiredly.
Lavinia was far more skilled than her fandom page had let on in his last life. Hebrew magic, Egyptian Hieroglyphic script magic, Nordic magic, and explosion magic. Her mastery of Absolute Demise was also quite impressive.
The fight only ended when Mephisto punched a hole into the dimension and called an end to it.
''Fucking hell, brat, all this to test yourself?'' Mephisto said.
''Not every day I can fight the wielder of Absolute Demise. She was more of a challenge than a Miracle child, at least; Legrenzi was just disappointing. As first dates go, she was an A+.'' He admitted.
''D-date?'' Lavinia flushed red at the suggestion.
''Moving on, I spoke with my brother.'' Mephisto cut in. ''You have authorization. But I looked into it. If Augusta and that wicked bitch Walburga are behind the missing kids, we're going to need a lot more than you, your group, and Grauzauberer. Hope you're okay with working with the enemy of your enemy.''
''I have zero problems with it. '' He said, shrugging.
''Lavinia, stop blushing; you'll be working with Bael and Grigori to take down Augusta, and whatever fucked up scheme she's got going this time.'' Mephisto said.
''O-of course, pops.'' Lavinia stuttered slightly, still blushing somewhat and sneaking embarrassed glances at him.
''As for you brat, you owe me a new door.'' With that, Mephisto Pheles turned on his heels and vanished.
''Well, thanks for the spar; we'll have to do this again, cute stuff.'' He nodded to Georg, who began teleporting them out. ''Find us in Ryoukou Town.'' He said, leaving Lavinia alone in the dimension before she realized she was left behind, at which point Georg teleported her out.
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Gladio returned to the Bael Castle and summoned Regulus to their personal training room.
''The appointed time is fast approaching. It's time you and I ramped up our training. We have Balance Breaker; I want to push it further.'' He told his Lion, who immediately leapt towards him, transforming into an axe, and as his hands wrapped around the hilt...
''Regulus Nemea, Balance Breaker, Regulus Ray Leather Rex!'' He was engulfed in Armor, and he just felt the power for a moment. ''Regulus, bring me before the past possessors.'' A fraction of a second later, he was brought before the past possessors of the Lion King.
''My name is Gladiolus Bael; your time is past, mine is just beginning. I have no need for you anymore; you're just weighing me down. Pass on, join your loved ones in the afterlife you all so richly earned. Or stay and watch as I use Regulus to change the game. Either way, I do not care. As I said, your time is over. That's all I have to say….'' One by one, many past possessors faded away until only eighteen remained. ''So be it.'' He began to chant.
'This body, this soul, even if it falls into an endless ravine!'
'My Lord and I, we will exhaust this body and this soul to rise up the endless royal road!' Regulus joined him as they began to chant Breakdown the Beast.
'Raze, triumph, play, and shine!'
'This is the body of a Demonic Beast!'
'Lodged on top of my fist is the glorious imperial authority!'
'Dance!'
'Dance!'
'Bloom!' He and Regulus said it together, pausing for several seconds, just long enough for a couple of heartbeats.
'Breakdown The Beast, Climb Over!' Explosive Power rocketed outwards as they reached a new level of power.
He channeled his enormous and potent Demonic Power into the form, using it to power it instead of his life-force. But as fast as he regenerated it, it was draining it twice as fast.
He canceled the form and fell flat on his back. Panting hard as the incredibly draining form disappeared and Regulus appeared beside him.
''Well done, Master, you've reached a new level of power I never thought possible.'' Regulus said.
''Thanks… I'm just going to lie here a bit, give my body a chance to recover from the recoil.'' He grunted through the pain.
''Of course, Master. I'll return to your mother's side.'' Regulus left him alone for a little bit.
''About time you and I got a chance to speak.'' He looked up, no longer was he in his training room; instead, he was surrounded by fire and before a majestic Red Dragon.
''Ddraig I presume?'' He was ninety-nine percent sure, but better to be completely one hundred percent sure…..
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(Author's Note:)
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Covered a fair bit more than I expected her to; ended up deciding to push Siegfried and Bova to the next chapter. Gladio has changed a lot in the time-skip. He's more blunt and direct; he's also more cheeky in some respects. I wanted to end on Breakdown the Beast because it means we don't get to have him unlock it in the Timeskip; we get to potentially see him use it and Regulus in battle. The System rewards were supposed to be in the last chapter; I ended up doing it this chapter cause I forgot last time. Ah well, not the end of the world. There doesn't need to be system rewards every chapter. I figure maybe four or five more chapters of System Rewards before we level up to a new Tier or category.
Maybe three.
Either way, the opening reward of that next level of rewards is a good one. It's no power stone, but the color Purple is very much involved, as is power. I've been mapping out the rewards several chapters ahead to help develop the chapters, so we'll get to the two the oldest of my three youngest brothers rolled, and then we level up. Either way, I'll see you guys at the next chapter, whenever that is going to be.
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