Chapter 19: Preparations

At Ash's private training facility, he was currently training with Degenbrecher to sharpen his skills some more.

The two were exchanging blows with their weapons while Narcissa and the twins watched.

"So cool..." Narcissa's mouth was open and the twins' eyes were sparkling.

"You've really gotten used to your strength Degenbrecher." Ash smiled, sweating from the exercise.

"Same to you, train some more or me and Margaret will be able to kick your ass!" She lunged at him and their weapons created shockwaves after every clash.

"Go, Ash!" The twins cheered him on. While Narcissa was thinking of asking Ash for weapons to concentrate her arts.

She tends to lose control of it when she doesn't have an instrument to grip with her astral hands and the feline wants to help him in any way.

"Now, we can't let that happen." Ash reduced the friction on the floors to zero and Degenbrecher slipped.

She tried to recover after the fall, but the floor was just so slippery that she couldn't even stand back up.

"That's cheating, your arts is as ridiculous as ever. Nobody can fight in this kind of environment. And even if you're a caster, you'll be a sitting duck." Degenbrecher pouted at him.

"Hey, at least you have to think of countering something like this in the future." He chuckled and he helped her up.

"Ash, Degenbrecher. Teach us how to fight too!" Alastor had fire in her eyes. Astaroth was a bit shy, but she also nodded.

"Hmmm, sure. I guess we can do something." He decided to test if they have abilities that are unlike other Sarkaz, being a mysterious subspecies and all.

"Can I get some blood from you two? I promise it won't hurt a bit." Ash smiled at them and the twins nodded.

He drew some blood from them. Because the best method to understand their abilities. Is for him to have the same ones as them.

"Ash, can I come with?" Narcissa also wanted to get stronger. And she even has a determined face on, unlike her usual blank expression.

"Sure, sure. Just let me do something first alright?" He patted their heads and gave them some candy bars so they could wait patiently first.

He went to no man's land and took the blood samples with him. "Heh, sorry Lappland. I lied, I already do human trials, on myself of course."

Ash injected their blood into him and he remembered the feel when he transformed.

This time though, his assimilation was quite different from Sonus. Because when Alastor and Astaroth's blood flowed into his veins. The feeling of it was like molten lava.

He hissed as he kneeled on the desert. The ground around him started to turn molten due to heat from his body.

Ash's bloodline worked overtime to assimilate Alastor and Astaroth's mysterious racial traits.

Violet lightning began to crackle around him and energy converged. At the peak of its gathering, a violent thunderclap cut through the air.

And the area around him turned into plasma and melted glass from the lightning that struck his immediate surroundings.

Huffing, he tried to gain more control of his transformation and sat down.

Lava all around him, he meditated comfortably at the middle of it all like taking a mud bath.

"Fuuu, I guess I got lightning from one of them? Fire and heat from the other one." Ash could feel that his flames were burning a crimson red. Much hotter than normal too.

He furrowed his brows when he felt his blood move throughout his body. Like he was hyperaware of it.

So he tried to control it and the pores on his arm began leaking out his blood. And he formed it into a small blade.

"Control of blood? But neither of them are related to the vampire Sarkaz." He checked out the characteristics of the blood formed by his arts.

It was much harder than even black steel and other weapons that he has seen. The only exceptions are the ones from the far north that he's sure is infested by demons.

"Hmmm, I'll just check their control on their powers later. But I'm gaining more reign over my unruly bloodline." He sighed in satisfaction and decided to come back just like that, except without the large right arm.

Returning to Paradiso, he checked out with Degenbrecher on where they could practice out their skills against real enemies.

"I think there's a nearby place here infested with monsters." Degenbrecher rubbed her chin.

He tried to look for them at the very top skyscraper in the city. And a few miles away, there were a congregation of beasts.

Like originium slugs, metal crabs, and mutant monsters that would most likely kill any traveller.

"I found our mark girls, come on. Let's go hunting." Ash ruffled their hairs.

"Really!? Let's go!" The twins were excited to kill something, most likely due to their violent upbringing. And Narcissa was thrilled to practice her arts on live targets.

He also went to his room in order to check on his absolutely possessed sword. "Hmm, I'm starting to gain control on my form... Maybe I can use this as my main weapon now?"

Ash touched it and the sword pulsed once he gave it a little bit of energy because he drained it the last time.

He closed his eyes and was ready to stop its influence again. But it is quiet this time and just gave him its desire to be used against enemies.

"Okay, if you behave. Then I'll carry you everywhere." He made a deal with it and the sword pulsed again. "Good, no talking and no wanting to kill anything that moves."

The sword went silent and was satisfied to have a wielder that does not succumb to its influence.

"Ash, what are those?" The twins surprised him as he was concentrating on his cursed weapon.

"What are you two doing here? You can't be here." He sighed at them and they tilted their heads.

"Hmm, that sword is calling to me Ash." Alastor pointed at a red blade that he got with his sword and he raised a brow.

"Un, that one's telling me to come and get it." Astaroth pointed towards a sword spear with violet highlights and a longsword that glowed red.

He raised a brow at their apparent connection to it and decided to bring the weapons with him. "I'll let you hold it when we're outside."

They nodded and Ash flew them towards the monsters.

"Ash, what do I do?" Narcissa asked him for guidance.

"Don't think of them as enemies you need to kill, keep calm and try to eliminate them without attachment. One by one, as gentle as you can." He advised her and Narcissa nodded.

And while she was testing her control on her arts, Ash faced the twins. "Alastor, Astaroth, this energy is arts. Can you feel it?" He circulated magic on them and they nodded.

Being Sarkaz, they were instinctively good at it. "Then, can you use it?" He smiled and took out some snacks for them as a reward.

"I think I can..." Astaroth who is the calmer of the two raised her hand and concentrated. After a few seconds, violet lightning escaped from her hand and fried an originium slug that got caught in the crossfire.

"Woah, that's awesome... Let me try too!" Alastor furrowed her brows and forced it out. A stream of flames came out of her palms like a flamethrower.

A group of metal crabs that were starting to move towards them went orange hot almost instantly and turned into molten metal in just a few seconds.

Alastor and Astaroth got a dopamine rush and they were about to use it again haphazardly. "Okay, okay, eat this for now. Calm down." He gave them some cookies.

"Ash, not fair. They also KS'ed my targets." Narcissa pouted and he rubbed her ears.

"Let's see what you can do to those mutated monsters then, come on." He pointed at some monsters in the distance and she began to concentrate.

Her ethereal hands got smaller and smaller, as small as she could get it which were about the size of Patriot's huge hands.

And she got a hold of them, squeezing them with it as they popped like cherry. Leaving guts and gore around.

Narcissa then smiled at him because she wasn't losing control of her arts. "Good girl." He gave her a high impact headpat and she started feeling high from the rush of endorphins in her body.

"Hey Ash, I think I can control something." Alastor pointed at the mess that Narcissa made and she raised her hands.

The blood pooled and Alastor started to morph them into a weapon, but she still lacked the necessary control and it was all crooked.

"Nice first try, keep on controlling them well okay. You too Astaroth, make them nice and stable. So when you use it to attack, you can shape it to your desire."

They killed the monsters one by one as practice for their arts and powers. With Ash branding into their brains to play with their arts every moment they can so their control with it gets sharper.

Ash took the other demonic weapons he had and drained the lingering energy on it. "Don't even try something, or I'll throw you into the middle of the ocean."

He then gave them to Alastor and Astaroth. "Woah, I can use this to direct my arts Ash! It feels so much easier." Alastor pointed her sword at a direction and concentrated fire poured out of it.

"Me too!" Astaroth swung her sword and a horizontal line of electricity escaped from it.

The red one then started to fly and she could make it move with her arts.

"Interesting." He started to write notes to make them improve even further and Narcissa pulled on his sleeve with a pout.

"Ash, I want weapons too." She thought it was cool to swing around weapons like that.

"Hmm, how about I build you something nice?" He grinned and Narcissa smiled. Her ethereal hands can theoretically carry any weight.

So he planned on building her two super heavy swords for slashing, a spear for throwing and stabbing, and a hammer for absolute blunt force trauma.

"I'll work on it when we return home okay?" He patted her head and she was satisfied with that.

__

After a few days, Ash made weapons made of solid tungsten for Narcissa. And she absolutely loved them. Looking like a dark souls boss with large ass weapons.

He also started training them with Degenbrecher's help. So they could fight anything that comes their way.

"Baws, I'm bored... I want to fight someone." Lappland pouted at him because all he ordered her to do is train some soldiers in creative ways of fighting.

"Then how about you spar with Narcissa? She wants to fight someone other than me." Ash recommended to her.

"I'm not that crazy baws..." She deadpanned at him, seeing just what Narcissa could do with her floating weapons.

She was an absolute war machine that would mow down armies on her own.

"Then why don't you go bother Texas Lappland, hah. You know I'm busy." He scratched his head and she grinned.

"Hey, hey baws. Why do infected really like brooms?" Lappland bobbed her head left and right as she annoyed him.

He just stared at her and she gave a wide smile. "Because they can sweep their friends away with it!"

"Goddamn it." He chuckled at her morbidly dark joke. "Hey, I thought you're a frigid guy without a sense of humor baws. But it seems I'm wrong."

"Then how about this, why do hospitals always have AC on?" Ash decided to fire one back.

"Why, why?" She was excited. "To make the vegetables nice and fresh."

She stared at him for a moment and almost bust a gut laughing. "You're hilarious baws!"

Texas deadpanned at them. "I didn't expect you two would get along at all. She was so scared of you a couple of days ago."

"Baws and I have a special connection, isn't that right?" Lappland lunged on him and her tail started waving around.

"Sure... I'm just glad you're out of my hair." Texas slowly moved away from them.

"Aren't you friends Texas?" Mudrock asked her, confused.

"Friends is a strong word..." Texas frowned and Ash initiated a group hug with Lappland and Texas that delighted the silver haired Lupo.

"What are you saying big sis Texas? We're all friends here as long as you don't cause trouble." He smiled and Texas couldn't pry him off because of his tyrannical strength.

"Ugh, fuck me." Texas received a pocky from Mudrock because the Sarkaz noticed she was getting hella stressed.

"Texas, we're friends forever!" Lappland smiled at her and she groaned.

He let Lappland go and she began running around like a kid in Adderall again.

"Oi! Ash, Margaret and the others have returned!" Degenbrecher arrived at their location and he smiled.

"I guess it's a job well done, come on. Let's go and welcome them." He invited them all together.

Ash hugged Margaret and gave her a kiss after they waved at him. "How was the mission guys?"

"It's good, we compiled our reports here. The department of energy has been selling the latest equipment of Rhine labs behind the director's back. And the structural director is a slimy snake." Shining gave him a stack of evidence and a verbal report.

"I see, I'll go to Columbia myself later. Right now, we should prepare for Margaret's return in Kazimierz." He hugged the Kuranta's waist and Margaret smiled.

"Thanks Ash, but I believe I'm quite ready for it already." Margaret knew she would demolish anyone in Kazimierz with her newfound specs thanks to him.

"Ey, we have to take control of the chamber of commerce. Make Kazimierz great again." Ash patted her head.

"Just accept the help Margaret, you can't exactly change the country with you alone." Shining patted her on the back and would support her in her endeavors.

"Un, NTR knight should have a nice entourage." Liz nodded at Shining and Margaret was moved by their support. "Thanks you two."

"We go and train then." Degenbrecher smiled at her and would also give Margaret the best skills among the knights in Kazimierz.

__

As the days passed, Ash received a summons from the twin empresses and he got a bit suspicious.

"They might be doing planning something again." He squinted his eyes and would be going alone so he could be quick.

After saying his goodbye to the others in Paradiso, he flew to Leithanien and went to the spire of the empresses.

There, he got even more suspicious. Seeing the empresses drinking tea with Gertrude. They gave predicted that he would come he thought.

"Luna, Soleil, what's with the summons?" He raised a brow and they let him sit for now.

"Relax for a bit, you're too high strung Ash." Gertrude poured him some tea.

"Umu, thank you for coming so quickly Ash. Let's get down to business." Soleil slid some paper to him and he saw it was a marriage certificate.

"Monarchs have marriage certificates? This is, surprisingly modern." He then remembered the shitty bureaucracy of Germany and it apparently matches in Leithanien.

He read the contract and there wasn't really anything wrong with it. But he still felt that they were planning something.

"You wound us so, getting suspicious of us. Why not sign the contract already?" Luna said wistfully.

"Whatever, fuck it." He signed the documents and they clapped.

Servants then entered their chambers, hauling suits of all kinds.

"What?" He was confused and when he saw the empresses start to change into gowns, he gasped.

"Oh you did not plan our wedding to be today..." He deadpanned at them.

"You catch on quick, come on. Be quick, we'll be late to the cathedral." Soleil smirked at him.

With a deadpan expression, Ash was currently in front of an altar in the biggest cathedral in Leithanien.

"Do you, Asmodeus Naumann. Take Soleil and Luna Leithanien as your lawfully wedded wives?" The goat priest asked and he nodded subconsciously.

"Then you may kiss the brides." The goat priest nodded at him.

He took off their veils and decided to have a bit of a scandal.

Ash groped their butts in front of the nobles and thousands of people watching the broadcast on live TV.

He then gave them a wet and sloppy kiss that made them freeze in their tracks.

"Hmm, mine." He said in front of the camera and Leithanien was in an uproar from his bold actions.

"Kukuku, good luck in trying to make that die down." He smirked at them and they nodded at him with squinted eyes.

"Touche." The empresses snorted and shelved the issue for later.

__

Thanks for reading everyone, Kazimierz would be the next one and Chernobog will start. Ciao.