37 12th Birthday and Forging Preparations.
Since Romonus' 12th birthday was 5 months away he fully planned to use the time between He had no real need to sleep any longer with his ever-constant regeneration so his days became 24 hours long.
He had a few ideas if he wanted to cause as much Chaos as possible. The death of God to the faithful of the world was a very appealing idea. Just breaking the faith that went to Heaven would surely cause the entire world to fall into Chaos.
Of course, he could not follow through with this plan willy-nilly. It was just one of his plans as he did not plan to remain quiet to the humans. He was sure that a portion of humanity would jump ship to his worship.
It might even be valuable to start up a cult in honor of Rahvdall in the human world. This plan fully cemented itself in his mind as he continued his day-to-day. He could do nothing until his 12th birthday which was when he would drop his shackles.
Leading up to that time he spoke to his cousin Magdaran about his botany research who was more than happy to share what he knew. Because of his grandfather's decree, Magdaran was given a much larger monetary investment which he used to begin to research some of the extinct plants Romonus desired.
Together they even acquired some Magical Bees to make Honey from the purple Bael flowers. Not just for Kharn's sweet tooth, but also to sell which they turned into a business. Romonus planned to start several to rake in income as one could do plenty with money.
The biggest change was that just as Demaenetus ordered Sairaorg was brought back from his exile much to the young man's surprise. He thought he would only be allowed back once he proved his worth, but learning that it was Romonus who pushed for his return left him speechless. He was grateful from the bottom of his heart, but he had a goal in mind so he challenged Romonus for his position as heir.
Accepting the challenge with just his fists and Touki, Romonus beat his cousin bloody because he refused to go down. However, when Sairaorg finally fell, Romonus did not make fun of him or look down on him. He helped him to his feet and encouraged him to train with him. Even asked him to be his right-hand man once he became Lord Bael.
He promised to help him find a cure for his Mother's disease which his cousin instantly agreed to. Much to his Uncle Azland's displeasure, Romonus' was already bringing great change to the Bael clan. Not in the way he expected as he encouraged the weak to improve, the strong to learn from the weak, and vice versa.
The guards of the Bael Clan quickly took to him as he took them when he trained/ He spared with them, guided them, and inspired them to be imaginative. Quickly the guards began to respect him because while he was a Bael he did not treat them as just machines of war.
A few even wished to join his banner because Romonus was fully intending to have a personal fighting force at his beck and call. He still had not come up with a name, but it would be an investment in the future for when he started his wars of conquest.
While he had no plans to rule the entire world, some places were better off conquered. Probably the biggest benefit to his Alchemy was that he and Magdaran together used their Alchemy and Botany to try to find a cure for the Devil's sleeping diseases.
They were finding it tricky, but Romonus with his cousin's support began to brew Elixers for themselves and their peerages. Quickly enough Magdaran, Sairaorg, and Romonus became quite close. Not just as two half-brothers and a cousin, but as three brothers.
They shared their dreams, desires, and what they wanted to change in the Underworld. While Romonus only had two peerage members at the beginning they were little monsters who matured into their powers rapidly.
Akeno thanks to being a Nephalem got over initial nerves while Itsuki became like a mini dragoness according to Ddraig. Sairaorg's and Magdaran's peerages' joined in training with Romonus to simulate Ratings games making everyone involved ready for the eventual games.
The biggest reveal was that leading up to his birthday Romonus revealed his Satan Class strength shocking the entire Underworld. Even Zekram Bael had not expected to be 'matched' by Romonus this quickly.
Though, instead of feeling threatened, he just saw the prosperity of House Bael. Despite his power, Romonus was unsatisfied as he began to find better use of his gravity magic as he had neglected it in favor of his Power of Destruction.
It was hard not to because of how overpowered it was, but he looked back on his powers and gave them a total overhaul. Even Vespera using the overflowing Demonic Energies from him began to weaken the many chains to weaken them.
She managed to outright destroy over 2/5 of them which was progress. Once she got rid of a bigger portion they could remove her soul and place it in another vessel.
She even gave him advice as he tested new ideas, created new spells, created new magic types most notably unlocked his Devil Trigger. It seemed he still needed more insight to reach his Sin Devil Trigger, but just that made his future more streamlined.
One thing that even dumbfounded him was that the Nekomata incident happened before he could intervene. He had no official timeline for when it would happen so this was the expected outcome. Just as in canon, Kuroka escaped after killing her Master, and Shirone was left behind.
The Nobles pushed for her execution to prevent another incident like Kuroka from happening, but he jumped at the opportunity. Thanks to his overwhelming power and authority, he prevented her execution. Serafall, Sirzechs, Ajuka, and Falbium all even aided him with his decision as they were some of his biggest backers.
He had gotten over his nerves from his Uncle-In-Law and fully accepted Ajuka as family. He sometimes would get a lecture from the man as Ajuka wanted to pass him his Kankara Formula. He was starting to understand it, but it was a tricky thing to comprehend.
As for Shirone, he took her under his wing and did not allow her to wallow in despair. In the beginning, she said she hated him because he prevented her from suppressing her Nekushou side.
He never lost his patience with her and thanks to Akeno and Itsuki's care she began to change. He turned her into his Rook and despite her self-loathing, he made her train her Senjutsu every day.
Thanks to that she went from hating him to seeing that he was right. He also told her the full truth about what happened with her sister and family breaking her heart. When she learned of why her sister had gone down her path she was determined to save her.
Romonus of course vowed to help her in this endeavor which made her dive into her training. That was just what he did to train, but he of course did not neglect his lovers. This of course included his very beautiful Mother who often pulled him into her room to share some nights of passion.
Though she respected his desire to wait a bit and she was looking forward to him pushing the boudry. Venelana even joined him when he trained as she realized the importance of power. He also often visited his Father and Rias and pulled his twin to train along with his peerage and his cousins'. He also often was in constant communication with Serafall, Latia, Miria, and even Roygun.
He would take time off to for each one, but when everyone got too busy they at least texted to keep in touch. Romonus' biggest treasure was looking through the materials his Father got for him.
Just as he had asked, he had 4 giant Minokawa feathers to use, egg shells of a hatchling, a single Thunderbird Claw, Mithiral, Shadow Steel, Adamantium from dwarves, a whole ingot of Orchicalcum, Steel Dragon Scales, blood, and even the preserved heart of one.
All in all, his Father had gone all out in acquiring this material which was going to be needed to forge all his Profane Gear. He even got the 100 Devil and Human Souls from MacGregor. Thanks to Serafall's status as the Satan in charge of Foreign Affairs he bought some things from Hephestus the Greek God of Blacksmithing.
A whole new set of Blacksmithing tools blessed by the god and the heart of a Volcano at a great expense. The price was reduced because of his backing. His Father and grandfather worked together to reduce the cost.
He also worked alongside Latia and Ajuka to rework his entire forge room to prepare to make his gear. Working alongside her, and Ajuka they managed to build the Baptism Device. It would compress mana to such high degrees it would turn an almost ice-water-like consistency. Ajuka edited the schematic to increase the concentration and potency of the healing formations.
His regeneration should be enough, but it was good to have a second lifeline if that failed. Once the Baptism was sorted out Romonus spent the remaining time he had without a wink of sleep improving. In the end, because of sheer effort and the Sparda bloodline, he started to advance through the Satan Rank quickly.
He was nearing the next rank which was the level of a Super Devil, but he just needed time. No one could explain it, but because of that, his name began to spread through the Supernatural community. He and Azazel were in constant contact as Romonus was pushing for peace and alliance with Grigori.
All in all, it was a very productive time for him, training was over. For over 12 years he had spent most of that time training, but it was finally time to cut loose.
---
The night before his 12th birthday, Romonus allowed himself a very rare sleep. Those 8 hours were the only sleep he had during the past 5 months. Currently, he was only wearing a pair of shorts and no shirt showing his impressive muscles.
As he slept, Kharn the insane Badger was sleeping belly up on his chest. The little animal had not gotten any larger, but he had evolved because of his bond with Romonus. His color did not change, but his claws and teeth all became red as blood. The anime even created a magic just as crazy as him essentially The Berserker Path.
It allowed him to fight with even life-ending wounds to the brain and he would just shrug them off and heal. His strength, speed, endurance, and sheer insanity made him a brutal combatant. However, he was not the only one sleeping in his bed as a small white cat with two tails was curled up under the crook of his arm.
Shirone had become quite fond of sleeping by his side. She said that she was able to grow stronger when near him because of his constant Demonic Aura that vented from him. As such, he allowed her to sleep in his bed, but as a cat.
She was too young for him to be interested in her sexually, but he would need to be careful when she reached age. A Nekushou could go into heat which would make her desire him, but she had to get older first.
Because of his first life, he knew the kind of damage sexual abuse would bring. It was probably the reason he was putting off sex with his Mother. He wanted it, but he did not want to be reminded of Carla who exploited him.
The reason he had such a high body count was that she would sell his services to her friends and the daughters of his friends. All in all, he had come to accept he had issues, but he had accepted them as part of himself.
As for Shirone, she honestly did not mind sleeping in his and thanks to him not allowing her to suppress her bloodline or Sejutsu she was growing at a faster rate. She was not going to be as small as her canon self as she even started to grow her hair out like her sister.
As they slept, outside his door 10 maids were shivering. They wanted to go inside his room to wake him up, but Kharn was in there. The crazy Badger had often chased out anyone who entered making the poor girls terrified of him.
Even more so than Romonus who was a monster in of himself. As they asked themselves if they should enter, one girl psyched herself up.
"I am going in."
Her fellow maids tried to discourage her.
"Don't Hirita, the Badger is in there?"
Another girl agreed with her with a fearful face.
"Yeah, I went in there to clean and the Badger chased me out. He hates being annoyed."
"Don't do it, the Badger will spray you with his stink?"
The Skunk Weasle had done that before and the poor girl had to be scrubbed down with magic to remove the now magical spray. Hirtia though came prepared and reached into her dress pocket and pulled out a jar of Purple Honey. This was the Honey produced by the Bees kept by Magdaran and Romonus. It quickly became a luxury item because of how little the two sold.
They called it Bael Purple and the desire and mana in it drove up the price. Though, if anyone found out that a big chunk of it went to satiate Kharn's sweet tooth they would cry tears of blood at the injustice.
While they paid sky-high prices for even a taste, a Skunk Weasle got most of it. The magic inside the Honey was a big reason why he was slowly evolving so it was a worthwhile expense. Hirtia walked forward and opened the door slowly. When she entered, Kharn opened his eyes instantly. He squinted his eyes and was about to hiss when the girl opened the jar of Honey.
Instantly the Badger began to sniff the air and lick his lips so she put the jar down and stepped away. Kharn accepted the offering and jumped off Romonus' chest to devour his prize. As he lapped up the Honey, Hirtia walked over to Romonus.
Since he was shirtless she could see just how powerful his body was. Sairaorg was built very similarly to this, but even he said that his cousin had a better physique.
'Such a body.'
She shook her head and spoke to him.
"Young Master Romonus, it's time to wake up."
When Romonus opened his eyes they were glowing a bright purple. He sat up a bit and rubbed his face.
"What is the time?"
"It is 8 AM Young Master. You said you wished to be woken up at this time. This is the first time you have slept in 5 months, shouldn't you sleep more."
He sighed and sat up in bed being careful to not wake up Shirone.
"No, this is plenty."
When he stood up out of bed she realized that he towered over her. She was a small girl only 5 feet tall while Romonus had grown again. In 5 months he had grown 2 inches making him 5'10. He would probably be as tall as his grandfather or taller he was not so sure anymore.
"I will get y-"
Before she could finish he waved his hand and his Bloodborne Hunter suit was strapped back onto his body. He walked over to his bed and picked up Shirone into his arms. The small white cat flipped around to expose her belly to him.
"Shirone, time to get up."
The Nekushou opened 1 golden eye to look up at him.
"Sleep more."
"No, no sleep. Come on, today is my birthday. Though the Ball is scheduled in 10 days to get my work ready. You're going to be needed for this."
Shirone yawned as he put her down on the bed. With magic, she returned to her human form showing her young age. She was only 2 years younger than him making her 10 at the moment.
Thanks to her great diet of Magical Beast Meat, Magical vegetables, fruits, and even different potions he brewed she was far from thin. Thanks to being a Devil and Nekushou linked to his soul her body followed her desire and began to grow up.
Even with all that she was still 10 so she needed time to enter puberty. If he was not wrong she would look more like her sister. She was already looking much healthier than when he got her in his Peerage.
(Image here)
"Come on, get dressed. Oh, and Hirita you can go."
The maid looked up at him and asked a question.
"Do you not need me to clean?"
"No, the room cleans itself. Thank you, but no."
"Alright."
Almost sad she left his room as he had no real need for the 10 maids given to him. He started to think that he should train them to be Battle Maids rather than cleaners. Magic made many jobs obsolete which was going to have to wait.
Shirone in front of him got dressed in her Bloodborne Suit. It was the official uniform of his peerage only that once it was time he would buy some made from expensive leather from mythical creatures.
Shirone got clothed fast enough and Kharn was done with his Honey by then. The magic inside it was absorbed by his body growing his power. As Romonus and Shirone walked out, the Badger ran up his leg to reach his shoulder.
As he stepped out Itsuki and Akeno also came out of their rooms already dressed. Because they were a Devil Dragon and a Nephalem respectively both girls had matured into powerful individuals.
Just like Shirone, they got an expensive diet and potions they were maturing rapidly. Akeno had three pairs of Nephalem wings while Itsuki wings were rapidly evolving into Dragon Wings.
Once they finished maturing he planned to place Runic Tattoos on them just like him.
"Did you girls sleep well?"
Itsuki most certainly did better than the human world.
"I did. I much prefer the beds of the Underworld to the human world. Even my parents liked the use of magic in their daily lives."
"I can see why. You look much better than when I found you."
She grinned as 5 months of training, she had gotten a bit taller as well. Her birthday was also close to his as it was on April 16th. 7 days after his birthday so they were going to celebrate together then.
As for Akeno, her birthday was July 21st and Shirone's was on November 23rd. He had each one memorized which reminded him that Rias would be having a birthday at their normal time on April 9th.
That was why he pushed for 10 days after so he could go see his sister on her birthday. Akeno though frowned as he ignored her.
"And me? Aren't I also doing good?"
"Yes, you are. Your Nephalem bloodline is making you a little nightmare. You can get in close and be away if needed. You are also quickly looking like your Mother."
That did make her smile, but what he said next was the hope she needed.
"Tell you what, on your birthday let's go see if the Shinto gods will let you see your Mother."
She instantly perked up.
"Really?"
"I will. Shirone, we can try the same since she is a Yokai. Though I still haven't found a trace of your sister."
Shirone frowned as she thought of her Mother. Romonus had not kept anything back and even spoke of her Mother. It was because of her that her sister was forced to suffer and leave her.
"Can we not?"
"If that is what you want. Today we have no training as all of you are going to be helping me in the forging of my Profane Gear. I will need Latia, MacGregor, Ajuka, and all your help in it.
Akeno your Holy Demonic Lightning will temper the metal, and Itsuki you will Boost up and transfer your energy to me and the armor. While you Shirone will use your Senjutsu to add Nature Energy to it. This will take a while to complete, which is why I had you all rest the night before. You all feel ready?"
One by one he got confirmations which meant it was time to start the forging. He pulled out his phone and began to call up those he wanted to help. Ajuka and MacGregor were going to do the enchanting, he would do the forging, and Latia would add the tech he wanted.
He even managed to get Surtr to agree to fuel the forge along with the Volcano Core to make sure everything was perfect. This was going to be his gear for the rest of his eternal life and while it would grow with him he wanted it to be as powerful from the start.
In the 5 months leading to this, he had been buying materials from several factions including Azazel. Now it was time to see just how good he was at his craft.
