[27] : Physical bodies? - Invitation

Draconic Deus

Earth.

Tokyo - In an abandoned building.

[***]

—Bang!

"Damn it, you filthy human! Ah! It hurts, it hurts! Ah!"

Screams echoed inside an abandoned building.

"Well, of course it hurts, idiot. All these weapons are enchanted with light magic… Even if it's not holy power, you guys are still weak to it, right?"

Aiden calmly observed the devil, who was impaled against the wall.

Several swords pierced his hands, legs, and thighs, carefully avoiding vital organs.

"Ah! I'm going to die! Ah! Spare me already... I'm losing blood!"

The devil trembled in fear.

What was supposed to be a normal, victorious day had turned into a disaster.

He had just ascended to high-class devil status after years of being a low-class devil.

He had planned to kidnap a few girls and form a harem, abusing his newfound power as the [King] of his peerage.

Now, here he was: impaled and humiliated.

"Does it really hurt that much? Even though God is dead, you still feel pain from the sacred... Oh, wait, that's not common knowledge. Please forget I said that… Ah, you're not listening."

Aiden approached the devil, who was crying and gasping on the verge of death, and pulled a box from his clothes.

As the screams continued, he opened it with indifference.

"So these are the [Evil Pieces]."

Inside the box were chess pieces:

8 [Pawns], 2 [Bishops], 2 [Knights], 2 [Rooks], and 1 [Queen].

As expected, the [King] piece was not there; that role was registered directly in the underworld.

"How lucky! All of them at once, hehe~."

Aiden let out a soft chuckle, ready to use [Analyze], but stopped when he heard a noise behind him.

"Ah! Bastard, give that back! Do you know how many years it took me to get that, huh? Damn it! You filthy insect!"

The devil, enraged, began to release his demonic power, a typical display of a shonen character.

Aiden, however, didn't even blink.

"What should I do with you? Even though I'm not the best person… you're evil. If you stay alive, you might cause trouble for others. Well, let's end this, who cares?"

A golden portal appeared behind Aiden as he spoke with complete calmness.

—Fire! Bang!

A spear shot out and pierced the devil's head, ending him.

At the same time, the other weapons impaling him vanished into dust, returning to the [Gate of Babylon].

Aiden, now holding the [Evil Pieces], walked away from the abandoned building.

Before leaving, he made sure to erase the memory of the girl who had almost been victimized, freeing her from the terror she had endured.

[*]

Draconic Deus

Earth.

Kyoto - At the motel.

[*]

One day later...

"Darling, you're working too much. You should rest more~, we left Elicia to live in peace~."

Miku hugged Aiden while sitting on his lap, their noses almost touching.

"Darling shouldn't pay so much attention to these [Evil Pieces] all the time," she said, pouting.

"But, but they're interesting… Plus, they have so many benefits…" he replied weakly.

"No excuses! You should take a break. Darling has been studying these pieces all day yesterday."

Miku picked up the [Queen] [Evil Piece] and looked at it curiously.

"I'm sorry… I'll take a break in a bit, but I wanted to finish this quickly," Aiden apologized with a helpless smile as he hugged her waist and buried his face in her chest.

She looked at him silently, gently stroking his white hair as if he were a small child.

"The truth is, the reason I'm so excited about creating my [Spirit Pieces], aside from wanting to form a cool organization, is because the [Spirit Pieces] could give you a complete physical body," Aiden spoke with emotion.

He had already fully analyzed the [Evil Pieces].

The [Analyze] magic was quite practical and straightforward to understand; it simply scanned the entire 'element' and sent the information directly to the brain.

Despite having a Level 10 body with 3999 base stats in all his attributes, Aiden felt a headache while analyzing the pieces.

If his body suffered, that gives you an idea of how complex understanding the functioning of these [Evil Pieces] was.

But now he knew how each piece worked, how it was crafted, what characteristics each one had, and even how to create them.

The only thing he still needed to analyze was the [King] piece, but that piece was no longer in any specific location where he could study it.

Even so, there was an alternative: analyzing the [King's Monument] found in the underworld.

This system was where the [Kings] of the peerage were registered along with their servants.

In other words, it acted as a substitute for the [King] piece.

As for the materials for the pieces, there was no issue.

He could replace them with materials of similar qualities.

For instance, the crystal from those crystal monsters he fought for 100 years.

He could also use his null magic, called [Condense], which allowed him to fuse materials and make them more durable.

Aiden had abundant materials in his [Gate of Babylon], so there were no obstacles.

All that remained was to analyze the [King's Monument] and create his own [Spirit Piece] system.

And since Aiden wasn't creating these pieces to play the Ratings Games of the devils, the number of pieces he could have in his own noble house would be limited by what his 'soul' could bear.

But being a Level 10 in [Falna], that wasn't a problem.

He could have more than 10 [Queens] and even over 100 [Pawns] as long as his 'soul' could withstand the weight. 

And considering he had a tree of life within his soul, his spiritual strength was no issue at all.

...

Upon hearing the reason Aiden was so excited about the [Spirit Pieces], Miku simply smiled sweetly and gently stroked his hair.

A physical body.

She might be hugging him now, feeling warmth, cold, pain, pleasure, tasting things, perceiving touch... all the sensations of a body were there.

But in the end, it was still a body made purely of reiryoku, a physical manifestation created to accompany Aiden on his journey and keep him from feeling lonely.

"Darling, have you still not given up on that? We're already happy just being with you…" she said softly, almost in a whisper.

"No!"

"I'll make it so you can live with physical bodies. I know what you talk about in your dreams… I can also see that longing in you when you watch normal people with their families."

Aiden knew the girls didn't desire to be human for philosophical reasons, like not wanting to be 'weapons' or something similar; that didn't matter to them.

What they longed for, with palpable desire, was what they saw in humans: love, connection, and descendants.

"Darling… can we really have a family?" Miku asked, cupping his face between her breasts and looking directly into his eyes.

She had seen thousands of humans during her decades of life in Elicia build families, remarry, and have more fruits of their love.

She had always wished she could do the same, but unfortunately, she never had a body that allowed her to get pregnant.

The same was true for the others; while their emotions varied, in the end, they all desired to have children.

"Yes, I promise. We'll be able to have as many as you want… even a whole soccer team if that's what you want." Aiden replied with a smile, stroking her hair.

"Darling…" Miku leaned her face closer to his and gave him a soft kiss. "You're so cute, Darling~."

"Not handsome?" Aiden asked with a playful smile.

"You're handsome too… but you're also cute. Anyone would mistake you for a teenager because you haven't changed at all. You're so cute~."

She hugged him, and they stayed there for a long time, cuddling, enjoying each other's warmth.

In the end, Aiden left the [Evil Pieces] for another day and simply relaxed with Miku.

[*]

Dimensional Gap

[*]

Five days later...

Aiden floated somewhere in the undefined vastness of the Dimensional Gap.

His body moved at high speed through this 'infinite' space, a place with a kaleidoscopic sky that seemed like its own dimension, where colors blended into patterns that defied logic.

"I think this is a good spot…"

From his hands emerged several magic circles.

Within these circles, more filled with letters and complex runes: elven runes, fairy runes, spirit runes, Nordic runes, and more.

With a single movement of his hand, these circles fused together as if he were drawing destiny itself.

—Flash!

A massive magic circle appeared in the 'sky' of the Dimensional Gap.

In an instant, it expanded, transforming into a titanic barrier that covered at least 40 square kilometers of the vast void.

Aiden approached one of the walls of the barrier and nodded, satisfied.

"Done… now I have a territory. The 'air' is already starting to form, and the pressure of being in the Dimensional Gap is slowly fading. In a few weeks, an ordinary human should be able to come here…"

Aiden had just created a territory within the Dimensional Gap.

And why?

The reason was simple: he needed a base for his supernatural organization, and the Dimensional Gap was the 'safest' place he could think of to hide it.

The Dimensional Gap was as vast as a universe, and the chances of someone stumbling upon his territory were minimal.

Moreover, the barrier's spells concealed it even further.

Not even [Rasiel] could seek information within the Dimensional Gap.

This space was 'infinite,' existing across infinite parallel universes like a mirror.

Since [Rasiel] was only nearly omniscient on a planetary scale, it couldn't access this domain.

...

Five days had passed since Aiden spoke with Miku about the [Spirit Pieces].

The others also learned of the news, and their happiness was unanimous.

That was all Aiden needed to know.

Now, he had mastered the creation of the [Spirit Pieces].

Only one step remained: traveling to the underworld, entering Maou's territory, and analyzing the [King's Monument] to create his own [King's Monument].

He was waiting for an opportunity to go, and he knew that opportunity would come soon.

He had spoken with Ravel, who had informed him that Riser's engagement to the Gremory heiress would be held in two days.

The invitation would arrive tomorrow, or perhaps today, when she sent it with one of her servants.

Aiden planned to use that time to send a time clone with [Zafkiel] to infiltrate the Maou's territory and analyze the [King's Monument].

Now, he just had to wait a day or two.

"I wonder if I should build the Gardens of Babylon, like Dr. Regina Babylon in Elicia…" he murmured to himself.

Regina Babylon, a scientist or inventor from ancient times in Elicia, was the creator of the Gardens of Babylon, leaving them floating around the world.

Aiden wasn't foolish; he had studied all the technology behind that marvel.

"Anyway, it's time to return… I'll finish this once I have at least one subordinate."

With those words, Aiden returned from the Dimensional Gap.

[*]

Draconic Deus

Earth

Kyoto - At the motel

[*]

One day later…

Aiden stood before a servant of the Phenex household, who maintained an impeccably professional posture.

With a fluid movement, the servant handed him a sealed envelope containing a letter.

"Aiden-sama, you have been invited by Lord Phenex. The ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. in the human world, and the location is detailed in the letter."

The servant, who could have easily been a butler from any noble's mansion, gave a slight bow, placing his hand over his chest as a sign of respect.

Aiden took the letter with a calm smile, leaning casually against the wall.

"I see… I'll be there. Thank you for the invitation. I didn't think I'd be invited to such an important event, being just a 'human.'"

"Of course, Aiden-sama. According to Riser-sama, you are a mage of great talent, and Ravel-sama has spoken highly of you and the technology you plan to develop with Lord Phenex's support," the butler replied, his tone completely respectful, with not a trace of disdain despite Aiden's human nature.

Aiden wondered if the servant was merely acting or if he had genuinely grown so accustomed to dealing with humans that he didn't even flinch. 

The Phenex family had many servants, after all, and he was probably used to handling these situations with total indifference.

—Flash!

After a final exchange of words, the butler disappeared in a flash, taking with him the teleportation magic circle marked with the Phenex family crest.

Aiden returned to the motel and entered the room where Origami, Kotori, Miku, and Nia were.

The other girls, as always, were out somewhere in Kyoto or a similar location.

"Anyone want to join me for this boring engagement party?" Aiden asked, holding up the invitation with an amused smile.

They had told him he could bring several companions if he wished.

"Boring…" Origami replied, showing no interest.

"Aiden-kun, I don't want to be a bother. Aren't you going to negotiate with the head of the house afterward? I don't want to get in the way of all that," Nia said with a hint of hesitation in her voice.

'If you don't want to go because you're too lazy, just say it already,' all the girls in the room thought simultaneously.

"If you don't want to go, just say it!" Kotori said mercilessly, looking at Aiden with a smile. "I'll go anyway. I'm bored here. I don't feel like wandering around Kyoto either."

After thinking it over a bit more, Nia couldn't resist and added herself to the group.

"Well, maybe I'll go too. I might get some inspiration for my manga. Imagine a guy opposing that marriage or something… At least it might give me some ideas."

Nia finally decided to join after Kotori exposed her without hesitation.

"Okay," Aiden replied, shrugging with a smile.

Miku declined, and the other girls who returned later also decided not to accompany him.

Thus, only Aiden, Kotori, and Nia would attend the ceremony.

[***]

End of chapter.

(•_•)

A/N:

Probably the protagonist will only be a bystander, because intervening there, without being an ally of the Phenex yet, would be complete stupidity. 

Besides, in that wedding drama there isn't even a 'villain'.

Issei is a fool whose only motivation is Rias.

Riser, on the other hand, was in love with her. 

Yes, his attitude is nasty, but he's not evil; he's just doing his part in that marriage.

Rias isn't entirely to blame either. 

Yes, she failed in her duty as an heiress by not marrying, and we could say she's a lousy heiress, but as a person? well, she is understandable.

In short, there is no villain in this story. 

If you have to look for a culprit, blame it on the parents or Sirzechs, who were the ones who organized this whole wedding.

So Aiden will stay out of it.

Thanks for reading~.

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