ushernet Obelisk, weapons, and the calm before the storm.
Obelisk, weapons, and the calm before the storm.
Devas returns to Terraria in the next chapter of (P)(A)(T). It was supposed to be in the one I released today, but I had to cut the chapter in half when I saw the number 15 next to three zeros. So I split it into two.
Well, as always, if anyone wants to support me and read 3/7, that's possible on (P)(A)(T). If not, I still appreciate you reading, thank you very much!
That said, good night and happy reading!
(P)(A)(T)/CalleumArtori
[...]---[...]
POV: Devas Asura.
The rain had stopped a few hours ago. Even so, my nose still itched a bit. It was going to rain again — that much I was sure of. The first thing I did after saying goodbye to Ozma, who, besides being exhausted, seemed hopeful, was to jump from Amity towards the Emerald Forest.
I didn’t have anything else to say to Ozma; I had already said everything I needed to, or at least I thought I had. My feelings were still a bit mixed, thanks to the story the old man had told me. So, I figured it would be best to keep my mind occupied for now.
I didn’t bother waking up the girls. It was still early, and since I was sure they’d stayed up late, thanks to yesterday’s events, I let them sleep a bit longer. I could start working on their weapons later in the afternoon, but for now, I had something I needed to do.
"Forging? What is it this time?" Jinn emerged from the relic the moment my feet touched the ground in the clearing where I usually did my things.
"Lightning rods," I answered simply. "It's going to rain, and I don't want Vale getting hit by lightning from this storm."
I glanced at my phone’s clock for a moment before starting to work.
[06:16]
I had time, not a lot, but enough to get what I wanted done.
She didn’t comment on what had happened, but the chat did, with varied reactions. I made sure Jarvis gave a "Time Out" to anyone saying anything bad about Ozma. I didn’t have the patience for that, not today.
Ozma might have said he didn’t care if people knew about his story, and that was fine, but I was The Streamer here. I accepted that people could talk about me, about my choices, but if I didn’t want something said about him, it wasn’t going to be.
The (CHAT - FATE) was, as usual, my focus. Their reactions were less varied.
[(MOD)GeniusBillionairePlayboy]: You know, usually, I’d have one or two comments to make, but not right now. I need to think a bit, a lot, actually. Damn... Jarvis will alert me if something important happens; if you need me, DS, just have him let me know.
[(MOD)Jarvis]: Would Mr. Devas like the data on how many people have received Time Outs in the last few hours? - Noted, Mr. Stark, I will only call you if it’s important. (Emote of a robot butler writing in a notebook)
[WiseWizardGleam]: I’m at a loss for words, for the first time in many years. So, I’ll just say: this is a story I’ll hold onto. (Emote of an old wizard sighing sadly)
[AinzOoalGown]: I’ll need to step away for a while, too. Wizard Ozma’s story made me reflect on a few things, important things... I know it doesn’t mean much, but thank you for letting me hear such a story. I’ll thank Ozma when he wakes up.
[TheWizardOz]: I haven’t slept yet, I’m used to little sleep. Don’t thank me, not for that. But I’m glad that, at least, the story of this old man made you reflect, Ainz. (Emote of the Wizard of Oz sipping coffee)
[AdvocateOfGenderEquality]: I can’t believe these words are coming from my fingers, but I’m glad that the gods of my world are like they are. Aqua isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed; I think a goldfish would win in that. But at least she’s nothing like the two gods of this world. (Emote of a generic guy thinking)
[JiraiyaIsAnIdiot]: I’ll spend some time with Ma; I think she needs it, maybe I do, too. My respects, Ozma.
[MagicalGirlSera-Tan]: I had something to ask, but it can wait. I’m going to poke Sona-tan for a few minutes, I’ll be back later! (Emote of a magical girl running)
[TheGreatGoddessAqua]: I’m no fighter, but I’d like to smack those two bratty brothers! If I were there, it’d be so easy to break this curse, too... Kazuma! My drink is empty, go get more! And grab some towels; Megumin and Darkness are puddles of snot and tears!
[AdvocateOfGenderEquality]: I’ll do this favor just once, and I repeat, only because I’m thankful you’re a dumb alcoholic goddess and not a vengeful one. (Emote of a generic guy grumbling)
There were a few more comments, but none as relevant. Rin hadn’t sent anything, so she was probably either asleep or busy with something. Saya and the others had sent some messages, but they were almost the same as what I’d already read—messages of sorrow, or something close to that.
It was good that Percy and Harry weren’t awake. Sally said she had to hold back from crying out loud to avoid waking Gabe. Not that I could blame her, or them, in this case; the whole (CHAT)...
It had been a while since I last talked to Sally, by the way. The woman had been busy; even with the help I’d given her, she hadn’t quit her jobs, though she had eased up on her hours.
I’ll ask how things are going later. How the weather is, at least...
"Why make lightning rods?" Jinn’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. She skipped next to me, her feet barely touching the ground. "You wouldn’t do that just because of a ‘It’s going to rain’. Or did that little nose of yours smell something?"
She walked in front of me and poked the tip of my nose with her finger. I flicked her hand away before responding with a question: "Do you know what geosmin is?"
Jinn didn’t hesitate before answering: "Geosmin is an organic compound that has a characteristic smell of wet earth or fresh soil..."
She continued, pulling up a complete explanation, as if she were reading from a book. I didn’t stop her and let her speak. At the end of the explanation, she smiled happily and waved for me to continue.
"A study from my home planet that, frankly, I have no idea who did, concluded that humans are much more sensitive to geosmin in the air than sharks are to blood in water," I explained briefly, before tapping my nose, just like Jinn had done earlier.
"A normal human would have the sensitivity to detect geosmin in the air about two hundred thousand times more than a shark would sense blood in water..." I let my voice trail off; Jinn was smart.
"You're not a normal human." She said, then followed my gaze as I looked in the direction I knew the Grimm Lands were. "... Sometimes, not knowing everything is inconvenient."
"It is what it is." I shrugged. "Salem’s brewing up a big storm; I don’t know if it’s on purpose or not, but that thing is headed toward Vale."
"Simple lightning rods aren’t going to do much." She kept staring at the horizon, even with the treetops blocking the view, as if she wanted to see something. I pulled her down when she started to float. She was wearing a skirt.
"They won’t be simple lightning rods; I’m going to enchant them with Runes and Mystic Symbols." I said, while organizing a few things in my head. "It won’t be a perfect protective measure, but it’ll help."
Jinn nodded, frowning slightly, but said nothing. I took her silence as a signal to start working. The first thing I did was pull various materials out of the VoidBag.
None of them were particularly important or rare: a large amount of raw copper and aluminum; at least the former was pure; as for the latter, I took the aluminum-rich minerals I had, along with some steel beams and Dust, mostly Lightning Dust, which I intended to use to make the paint for the Mystic Symbols that would go on the structures I was going to create.
Next, I used my mana to dig up the earth beside me, then used the hands of the Bone Helm to mix some materials and pour them into this mold, creating a sturdier structure. I used earth, clay, and concrete—a mix that should work for a one-time mold—so I made several of them.
The molds were about ten meters long and one meter in diameter, shaped like an obelisk, with the base as the thickest part, tapering off to a tip that ended in a small pyramid.
Just to be sure, I reinforced the molds with some Mystic Symbols, nothing too intricate or time-consuming—just a few seconds’ work. Using the hands of the Bone Helm and Shadowflame to help me, I had around a hundred molds an hour later.
The second thing I did was melt the copper and aluminum. That was simple for the Shadowflame. I didn’t bother finding the right point for the metal’s purity; I just melted it before pouring the copper into the obelisk molds and the aluminum into various bar molds I had.@@@@
It cost me a relatively large amount of copper, but nothing that a trip or two to a nearby ore vein wouldn’t replace.
I let both metals cool, using the Shadowflame and magic to speed up the process a bit. I spun my mana in the air, turning it into wind that swirled around the molds and into ice, or at least partially—just enough to cool the air.
While the molds cooled, I pulled out my cauldron and the materials for the paint, then sat down to start preparing the paint I would use on the obelisks.
Jinn and Snape helped me here, as always, along with some input from the (CHAT).
“Besides the Lightning Dust, obviously, I’d recommend using copper,” Jinn pointed out.
“Pine. An extract of pine and pure silver shavings,” Snape, who was in a green avatar made of lily pads, said next. “Argentite powder should work as well.”
I didn’t laugh at his avatar being made of lily pads this time, instead of green mushrooms like last time, but my lips may or may not have twitched a little.
“I was thinking of using gray slimes as a base for creating the paint.” I tossed some materials into the cauldron as I spoke. Then, I grabbed a random notebook and started sketching some formations for the obelisk.
“Because of their metallic properties?” Jinn hummed. “It could work, but the explosive property might be a problem...”
“Not with the pine extract. It should act as a buffer for the explosive energies,” Snape countered.
“Like a way to ground the lightning...” I murmured, before reformulating the base formation for the obelisk. “I’ll create a more dispersed grounding wire, like the roots of a tree...”
“Aqua’s hair should help with its calming and insulating properties,” Jinn chimed in. She seemed more than pleased with this conversation.
Even Snape had a slight smile on his face. It was something small, almost nonexistent, and I might have imagined it, but it was there.
Our brainstorming session didn’t last long. After creating so many paints and using so many materials, and with the variety of thoughts between Jinn, Snape, the CHAT, and me, making this paint was fairly simple. Half an hour later, it was ready.
-//-
[Lightning-Dust Dye]
Type: Material.
Rarity: Light-Red.
Color: Electric Blue.
Description: A dye made with the purpose of absorbing and dispersing electricity into the ground. Thanks to its materials and resonance, the dye has become capable of attracting electricity to a certain degree.
Created by the merging of three brilliant minds, the dye shines in three different shades of blue: a darker, grayish one, a sky-blue one, and a dull, matte one. The shades interlace with each other, forming a combination that vaguely resembles a lightning bolt.
[..]
Materials:
Copying Devas's breathing technique was something easier; at least the basics, since I was already using a breathing technique. All competent hand-to-hand fighters used it. I just had to mimic the best parts of Devas's technique and make adjustments here and there, swapping spiritual energy and mana for demonic power.
I didn't even try to imitate the Sun Breathing; the core of that technique was forged to kill dark creatures. Drinking holy water seemed more pleasant. I'm quite happy with the improvements I received; thank you very much!
"Oh, yes. Avoid showing off to Rias about the stream," I commented as I remembered. "Sirzechs has already tried to bribe me to give her the last invite, and I don't want him to bother me even more."
"... I wasn't planning to."
"You can do that when we get more invites. Just say you had preference over her or something."
Sona-tan's smile reflected her emotions very well.
[...]
POV: Devas Asura.
It took Jinn and me six hours to complete all the obelisks. Placing them in strategic locations that Jinn herself pointed out in Vale and Beacon took just over half an hour.
The other three hours were spent enchanting the weapons of Ruby, Weiss, Yang, and Blake. It would have taken longer, but Ruby insisted on speeding up the process, creating several drafts of Mystic Symbols on her own. They were just sketches, something Ruby did for fun while waiting for my arrival in Remnant.
... What caught my attention the most was the fact that she expected me to eventually end up here.
The sketches she made were not really functional, far from it, so I had to rework them myself. But having a base and the exact dimensions of the weapons helped speed up the entire process. The only problem was fitting everything in a way that also allowed for the insertion of an internal Dust reservoir.
The only one with mana among the four was Ruby, thanks to her silver eyes. I even thought Yang might have a bit, due to Raven receiving magic from Ozpin, but she apparently didn't inherit that 'spark' of potential. Whatever the Brother Gods did to humanity in this world seems to have completely eradicated their ability to use magic.
It wasn't even a matter of lack of knowledge or permission; it was as if magic had been ripped away from them. There was something missing inside their souls that existed in Ozpin and in me, something that would allow them to use magic. Even Ruby could only use the little magic she had in a more 'forced' way, channeling her limited mana for a simple purpose. Spells were impossible for her.
So, an internal Dust reservoir was necessary to energize the matrices in the weapons. This or a smaller container that would be recharged with Dust more occasionally than the main reservoir. I ended up using both ideas.
For Crescent Rose, I utilized the internal reservoir. The scythe was by far the largest weapon of the four and, to my surprise, the second most well-crafted. Whoever created Myrtenaster, probably a whole team of scientists and blacksmiths, was insane. That weapon had so many internal mechanisms and worked so perfectly that it's incredible it hadn't jammed until now.
Ruby made a small pout when I said this, but it quickly passed—especially when I mentioned that I would need her help to adjust where the internal Dust reservoir of the scythe would be inserted. I didn't want to end up damaging the Mechashift mechanisms of the weapon, so having the creator by my side was ideal.
Ember Celica and Gambol Shroud were easier to adjust. Yang's gauntlets, in particular. I just had to remove one of the ammo barrels from each gauntlet and turn them into small containers. Yang would need to recharge them every thirty minutes or so, but since she would normally have to do that anyway, it wouldn't be complicated.
Blake's complex weapon followed a similar path. I installed a reservoir in each part: one in the sword's hilt and another in the scythe's hilt. The chain was a separate issue, but I decided to just reinforce it with a simple matrix of Mystic Symbols, so it wouldn't consume even more Dust than it already would.
I didn't even need to adjust Myrtenaster. The weapon already had so many internal Dust reservoirs that I just modified one, creating a tiny matrix—which took a bit of work—and returned it to Weiss. Of all four weapons, the Dust Rapier was the most efficient in consumption.
I ended up placing only one rune on each weapon. I was confident that I could add more—on Crescent Rose, for example, I was sure I could insert three or four—but that would further increase the Dust consumption. So I focused on something simple but useful.
On Ruby's scythe, I placed a rune with the aspect of 'speed.' This would make handling the weapon smoother and more agile without compromising the impact of the strikes too much. After reflecting a bit, I added a second rune with the aspect of 'defense break,' since Crescent Rose had the largest Dust reservoir of the four weapons.
The runes wouldn't help much in rifle form unless I enchanted the bullets one by one, something I didn't plan to do for now. Not even my own bullets were enchanted. At least not all of them... I still had to add those goblin trap matrices to some of them...
On Yang's gauntlets, I placed a rune with the aspect of 'impact' on each of them. It wasn't a common rune, so to speak, but something I learned while studying the Ice Blade. Basically, this impact rune was a variation of the 'impact protection' rune, with some differences that altered its functioning so that each strike carried a small explosion.
This discovery really opened some doors. The blacksmith who created that sword definitely knew what he was doing.
For Blake's mix of scythe, pistol, and sword—I really didn't like that thing—I used a rune with the simple aspect of 'sharpening.' I had thought about putting the same rune as Ruby's weapon since it would work with Blake's fighting style, but Blake herself asked me to change it. So, I followed her suggestion.
Finally, Weiss's weapon. Initially, I considered placing a 'speed' or 'sharpening' rune, but after a brief discussion with Weiss, who argued that the weapon would function as a "staff for a mage," I decided to place one of the Ice Blade runes on the Dust Rapier: Mana Absorption (Ice).
Since Weiss primarily fought using ice—which was created by Dust made of mana—while she was near the ice creations, the weapon would effectively not 'discharge.' Weiss was shaping a fighting style that seemed a bit unpleasant to deal with...
“I still think putting the Anti-Foreigner rune (Terraria) was the best option.” Ruby looked sulky.
“It’s a terrible option,” I said, not taking my eyes off Myrtenaster as I used Shadowflame to mark the rune on the weapon. “It’s not just the Grimm that would be included in the ‘foreigner’ part, but you as well. Do you want Crescent Rose to start hating you?”
“Gasp!”
“The weapon is going to gain consciousness?...” Weiss said. She, Yang, and Blake turned to look at Lucy, who was sleeping on my lap. Ruby was still shocked by my words.
It was still amazing to know that an axe could sleep...
“No, but the mana that flows through it will still be aggressive toward Ruby,” I replied.
I didn’t know exactly what could happen, but I knew it wouldn’t be pretty. Basically, I was forcing the use of the Ice Blade, my mana simply overriding the ‘anti-foreigner’ attribute of the weapon as it entered my body with brute force. I didn’t think Ruby or the other three could do the same.
“So... am I the only one who noticed that this rune basically says Terraria was invaded by aliens?” Yang commented after a few seconds.
“That’s kind of obvious,” Blake retorted. “Would the deer be considered an alien?”
“Yes. I am considered an alien to Terraria,” I casually reminded them and added, “Actually, I’m an alien here too.”
“You’re way less alien than that deer,” Weiss pointed out, before shuddering slightly, probably remembering the Deerclops.
“Maybe, but I don’t think that matters to Terraria. An invader is an invader; I’m less aggressive than the Deerclops.” Or that thing. “But still, an invader.”
“Does the world see you as an invader?!” Jinn walked over to my side. She, like everyone else, looked concerned about this information.
“God, I hope not. I’m just guessing here. But I think not; if it did, I’d probably be dead by now.” I didn’t know how a planet’s mind worked, and from what little I knew, I painted a rather unpleasant picture.
“... That’s a rather macabre thing to say,” Yang commented. Blake, beside her, nodded in agreement.
“It is what it is. Of the options, one: either Terraria doesn’t know of my existence, or the planet knows and doesn’t care, or the stream protected me and is still protecting me somehow, whether by hiding me or through some other means. All of these are equally likely.” But given that Alalia, the last dryad and incredibly strong, hadn’t decided to attack me, I was probably fine in the world’s eyes.
... Damn, I really hoped so.
After enchanting the weapons of the entire RWBY team, it was already mid-afternoon, with the sky starting to turn orange. The girls began training, testing the upgrades to their weapons while Jinn watched. I went to work on my ship.
The next two days were basically a repeat. I would talk with the (CHAT), Ozpin, James, Team RWBY, or Jinn before working on something, usually on my ship. It was at the end of the third day, the penultimate day of the Vytal Festival, that a change occurred.
“She has so much mana...” I murmured.
... I could feel Salem’s mana.
She was far away, a good thousand or two thousand kilometers, I’d guess, which would normally be outside my detection range by a long margin, but the amount of mana and malice in that area was so great that it was like a beacon to my senses.
A dark and very ominous beacon.
“Is Salem nearby?!” Ozpin shot up, alarmed, from the bench he was sitting on in the command room of my ship.
“Not nearby, but I can feel her and her army.” I looked in the direction where I could sense the Grimm Queen, ignoring that there was a steel wall blocking my view. “Have the villages in that area been evacuated?”
James answered me, his voice coming from the entrance door. He wasn’t alone; Qrow, Penny, Team RWBY, and the Ace-Ops were with him. They had been training next to the ship, something they had been doing for the past few days.
“The most we could do. We couldn’t find all the unlisted settlements, but all the listed villages and settlements have been evacuated.” He frowned. “How much time do we have?”
I didn’t answer and closed my eyes, concentrating. I focused on the sensation I could feel and the immense amount of mana from Salem. The witch easily had ten times the amount of mana of a Maiden, maybe more. She had almost the same amount of mana as Jinn.
I reopened my eyes after about a minute. I was sure they were orange.
“One day, two at most, before she reaches Vale.” The expressions of everyone darkened with my words.
“What... What do we do?” Ruby was the one to voice the question that the whole RWBY team seemed to have. I turned to her.
“We prepare.”
... I myself will welcome the witch.
[...]---[...]
As for the chapter, well... I liked this chapter, even though it doesn’t have anything that seems important.
Devas is putting some plans into practice; Jinn and Snape helped. The three of them make quite a trio, almost like a bar joke, but together they can probably improvise a potion using water, stone, and air.
The POV: Serafall. Why did I include this? To show the difference between the thoughts of a devil and a human, along with some familiarities. It's much more "Greed" than "Lust", don't confuse them.
Sona and Serafall were saddened by Ozma's story, even if it was A LOT LESS than a normal person, especially Serafall.
Serafall, who, no matter how it seems, is a devil. A race that was made and shaped to be something against humanity, against God’s creation, which Lucifer, despite being that weak piece of DXD, hated. A human like Devas is kind of... it pushes some buttons that Serafall didn’t even know existed.
Finally, the RWBY team got an upgrade in their weapons and had a small conversation about Terraria, which, by the way, is kind of apocalyptic at this moment.
Salem is knocking at the door, and the next chapter marks the beginning of the end.
Finally, good night and happy reading!