Ch. 58 Demonkin and Testing

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My plans were moving along rather well.

Thanks to Azarath entering the final stages of its development plan, I could begin the first batch of changes for the devils of Azaroth.

You see, when I helped the creation of Remnant, I desired to give my soldiers, my people, and my future people, a chance at a proper afterlife and a promise of reincarnation.

Devils, when they die, simply end. They do not have the chance to go anywhere due to their own pantheon rejection their souls. Not even the Land of Shadows ever accepted devils.

So I thought to gift my people with something every other race has, peace in knowing death was not truly the end. To be free of the gripping fear that is knowing that once you die, that's it.

It would bring an unconscious level of worship upon success, as well as some hope regarding reigning in desires somewhat knowing death isn't just the end.

But I never truly managed to succeed. Even after Eresh traveled my lands.

Only now that my divinities have truly blossomed, thanks to my work in Azarath, do I have the power required to give them my gift. One which will transform my status in my people's minds from Lord to God in the truest sense.

It wasn't to satisfy a sort of god complex or anything. I usually prefer more casual affairs as long as people show proper respect to one another. This was more of a two goal experiment. I wondered is I could form a link to an Earth Divinity as well as my first one by having a race born on Earth worshiping me, reinforcing my 'existence' and divinities, or if changing devils fundamentally would link them to Azarath.

What I mean by fundamentally changing devils is that, I cannot link 'devils' to Remnant due to 'devils' being far too intrinsically linked to 'God', the Bible and Heaven/Hell/Underworld.

Thus I needed to change them.

Of course this wasn't easy, but many possibilities existed now that I had gained divinities useful for this. In particular, my divinities pertaining to the Soul and Creation.

What I would finally end up doing was to begin transforming select devils into something I call Demonkin. Calling them demons was a bit much, but since their origins would technically be from an evil race and they should generally keep the same advantages, I thought it would be rather fitting in the end.

The name also linked to a rather interesting phenomenon which occurred when my divinities finally grew to match my demonic power and I could stop completely separating them, gradually fusing and refining them into something better than both.

There was a reason why my strength had been stagnant, even while I should have been growing in power exponentially from the sheer belief, divine power and the strength of my divinities. This was because I wanted to make sure I could perfectly control both of my power sources, Devil and godly, but I also didn't want one to completely overwhelm the other and risking damaging my godhood or Devil powers, so I separated them and only used my Devil abilities while my godhood grew and stabilized on Earth/Underworld and the opposite on Azarath.

And once I felt a proper balance had been reached, I began a similar process I had done with Jeanne to fuse her holy and Devil powers, melding my own Devil powers with my divinity. Carefully entwining the two until they began becoming one, creating what I called a Demonic Godhood in my head, simply due to the Heaven defying godhood I had formed from it.

It was a good I did the change in my domain, or I was quite certain the gods of Earth and those two dragons would have felt them.

This was because once the process finished, I was certain that I had reached the power to defeat conceptual beings, but I hadn't become one. The difference being, I don't think that if I die I would eventually reform my body like what should happen to Great Red or Ophis if their bodies were killed or destroyed. My best guesses regarding this would be that it takes a certain amount of time to convert my existence to a conceptual one or that I would need to link myself to a space like the Dimensional Gap.

Hard to know for sure when there are only two beings such as this wandering around, with maybe a third sealed away if one counts Trihexa, but I wouldn't since that's just an overpowered monster not a true conceptual beings.

I actually think I am actually closer to Trihexa as a being than to the two Dragon Gods if I go by my own classification.

Thoughts for later.

For now, back to transforming devils.

In essence, with the help of Da Vinci, Scáthach, Medea, Eresh, Eywa and Tiamat, I worked out a theory that I could essentially replicate the effects of an Evil Piece reincarnating a being into a Devil, using a bit of my crystallized divine power to reincarnate devils into demons thanks to the unique energy I possess.

Technically this should work on any race, but I would only do this because devils need someone to link their souls manually, while other races could achieve this through belief alone.

So I began testing the procedure on a few fools who tried to blow up parts of my territory.

They didn't even come close, but the problem was their far extreme views on Devil superiority and hatred of anything non-Devil in the Underworld. It just required some 'convincing' to have them 'reduce their sentences' by helping my experiment.

As a result, quite a few major changes occurred in each of the devils.

The first would be a darkened skin tone, going from white to tanned or nearly dark. Next was the discovery that they no longer had the natural wings of devils, but instead mildly pointed ears and a different kind of horn from the large Qunari ones. Following tests showed that although they lost their Devil power, it was replaced by a more potent source which also permeated their bodies, reinforcing their physical and magical offense and defense, but suffered the loss of being able to 'imagine' cast and needing the former Devil to likely properly learn magic. (Hellas from Negima. Look up Jack Rakan and Theodora to get the idea.)

This last change actually improved the overall potential of devils in my mind, forcing them away from the lazy and lackluster path of magic and gifting much better natural combative advantages. They even lost the weaknesses to light and holy magic thanks to no longer being bound to God's systems, thus becoming much harder to put down than an equally strong Devil.

(Basically a kind of stereotypical 'demon' from anime. Powerful bodies and magic, while having 'demonic' features like different skin and having horns.)

Any other change was either currently unnoticeable or couldn't be tested as of now. As such the test subjects would be put under observation.

We have confirmed however, that their souls were connected to Remnant at least, hence success on that front.

As a result of the test, i have decided to begin shifting a set number of loyal devils into Demonkin. This will serve as a controlled group test to see if the effects vary depending of the Devil, possible lineage or strength, as well as to determine if the transformation has any effects on the psyche in the long term or under more stressful conditions.

And to do so, I thought to also hit two birds with one stone. So I called my two children.

"Father, you asked for us?" Kal said as he and my lovely daughter entered my office together.

'Really takes a bit too much after her mother. Even wears armor all the time like Scáthach wears her 'battle outfit.'' I thought with a soft smile as I looked at my two children.

After growing up, the two had been largely independent.

Of course family dinners were very frequent, but Kal prefers to live in his own home with Milim, Moka and Karura, surrounded by his farm lands. I had no problems with my son and heir living as he pleased, as long as he did not shirk his chosen duties as the Agricultural Minister and his duties as my heir to act in diplomatic manners or enforce Azaroth laws at times. Kal knew of his position and has never shown any rejection towards the possibility of becoming a lord, but also never sought it out, especially now that we were all becoming gods.

Scarlet on the other hand, well she spent a lot of her time adventuring the world and getting into fights with the friends she had gathered over the years. It makes me a bit sad that my little girl, the one who used to come to me every day after her practice with her wooden sword to show me what she learnt with a big smile, is so often away from home, but she craves to enjoy the world and test her strength and I can't stand in the way of that.

"Hello father! Hello mother!" Scarlet loudly greeted with a little salute she liked to do in a 'knightly' manner.

"Hello to you as well dear. How have your recent travels been? I heard you even brought your brother this time." Scáthach responded with a small but warm smile at our daughter.

"It was both fascinating and illuminating. Did you know that there was a human capable of creating living beings out of pieces of the dead? Truly living, not just the abominations known as flesh golems." Scarlet answered with clear interest. "Kal even brought her home as his Rook."

"Truly? I just thought Scarlet had made another friend when I heard you came back with a new member within your group." Scáthach replied with a raised eyebrow to show her interest.

"I tried. Fran is a sweetheart. Practically like a newborn, but she's very caring and protects those she likes fiercely. Too bad brother somehow got his fangs into her first." Scarlet said with a jab at my son's popularity with women.

'He is my son after all.' I thought a bit pridefully.

"Ha Ha. Like you can say anything with all those fools trying to court you." Kal shot back as memories of 'suitors' being sent flying from windows and new holes in various building flashed in my mind.

"*Snort* Those fools simply sought after me. I did not seduce them." My daughter sneered at the memory of all those pissants.

"Sure. But since you brought up Fran, I'd like to slowly start introducing her to everyone. Everything is new to her and she isn't too comfortable around people she doesn't know, so I'd like to do it slowly.

I'd also like it if you, father, aunt Da Vinci and aunt Ereshkigal could have a look at her. I want to make sure there's truly nothing wrong with her." Kal said with great care in his voice.

"Of course son. But about this human who created this Fran, is he available for possible recruitment?" I asked as this could be a valuable source of knowledge.

"About that…" Kal began a bit awkwardly.

"He was killed by his own failed creation once he tried to take over some towns to continue his 'studies'." Scarlet informed us with disgust at the man.

With a sigh, Kal began properly explaining what had happened.

Apparently the man turned out to be Dr. Victor Frankenstein, who was real here and wanted to obtain 'fresher parts' in the hopes of an even better creation than Fran, as she had been his only true success. From the notes my children had discovered, her creation had been a series of accidents and miraculous coincidences which manifested in Fran becoming a true 'life'. The doctor couldn't replicate it and in his mad pursuit he created dozens of abominations crafted from pieces of corpses, all until he ran out of parts and decided to get his own supply.

My children come into the picture once the rumors of undead and possibly monsters floated about the city and Scarlet's friends picked it up, and they all decided to go check it out in search of adventure. She just so happened to see her brother on her way out, so she just brought him along thinking his [Stars] would be incredibly useful when it came to undead, something he just went along with because he had been a bit bored and wanted to spend time with his little sister.

So they went to where the rumors spoke of, finding the towns closest to the Doctor's castle had been turned into gruesome sights of blood and entrails, thus they became serious about the matter quickly to prevent more deaths.

It really didn't take long for my almost Super Devil son and High Satan-class daughter to find an army of fleshy monsters. (Lith hides everyone's divinities while on earth so they just use Devil power, while Scarlet is a bit different.) But the weird part was that a lone girl, with a metal horn-like piece on her forehead, wielding an electrified mace, was doing her best to slaughter the monsters while growling and emitting lightning.

Kal, being the person he is, went to support the lone girl, while letting his little sister and her friends get their anger out of the shambling army. My son could have easily destroyed everything and so could have Scarlet, but there is something cathartic about beating things that pissed you off to a pulp, so that happened.

Afterward, the lone girl began just following Kal around as he tried to ask her questions, but soon proved near fruitless because of her not knowing how to vocally communicate. It was only after she guided them back to the castle that they managed to piece everything together thanks to the Doctors writings and journals, along with his mangled corpse.

So with the situation largely resolved, Scarlet decided to have her people 'clean things up' and look for survivors to relocate or have come down here for treatment, while Kal handled his own version of Altera when she was a 'newborn'.

"The Doctor was a maniac, but his writings could be useful to the Einzbern family. Please bring them alongside Fran next time." I told my son who nodded in understanding. "But now onto why I asked the both of you to come today."

"Is there going to be another match?" Scarlet asked with stars in her eyes.

"No, sorry princess." I answered her, causing my daughter to now have a depressed aura. "But if you want, we can probably try to start organizing some 'Team Matches' instead of full on Rating Games for you and your friends to participate in."

"Truly?!" She asked with hopeful eyes.

"Of course. I'm sure Diana would love to help organize such an event." I told her with a nod.

"Thank you father!" She yelled out as she jumped for a hug, only for me to stop her and rise an eyebrow at her decision to do so while wearing full armor.

"*Sigh* Still a daddy's girl." Scáthach muttered under her breath. "And still a spoiling father."

"As much as I'd like a hug from you princess, metal isn't the best hugging material." I told with amusement in my voice.

"Hehe! Sorry father!" She replied with a decent blush before making her armor disappear, showing her white blouse with black riding pants and black knee high leather boots, and giving me a proper hug before going back to her position and reequipping her armor.

"So father, the reason we are here is?"Kal questioned with a teasing look to his sister, causing her to glare a bit playfully.

"Well, we have successfully linked devils to Remnant, but it required their reincarnation into what I named 'Demonkin'." I announced seriously.

"This is wonderful news!" Scarlet exclaimed joyously.

"This is a big step forward." Kal said with a thoughtful expression. "But why call the two of us?"

That made Scarlet focus on me properly as the question was important.

"I will send you both the data we accrued from our first rounds of tests later, but for now I would want you two to lead, train and organize your own personal legions of Demonkin for a large scale test." I revealed to the two, making them go into deep thought.

They had both received education far above anything available to lead if necessary, so they were obviously thinking about what this entailed and possible ramifications.

"Beside the larger sample size, why have us make our own legions to do it father?" Scarlet asked with a minute frown.

"Neither of you have true experience in leading anything of this size, your military and martial training was both limited and far too controlled for that." I simply answered as I let my children work out many other possibilities.

"This is a test." Kal finally stated in realization. "Of not just the new Demonkin, but also of us. Our abilities to inspire loyalty, enforce a proper chain of command, how to lead, how to develop soldiers, how to handle logistic and training.

A test to see if we can truly lead."

"Correct." I replied with a wide smile. "And once a period of ten years has passed, both of your legions will clash to test your progress and current abilities.

This is a test, but hopefully also something filled with many important lessons."

"Do we choose who's part of our legions? What about resource allotment and facilities?" Scarlet asked as she began truly utilizing her lessons.

She wasn't Scarlet, the daughter of Lith who enjoys adventures and good fights at the moment, she was Scarlet Azaroth, daughter of the most powerful House in the Underworld.

"You may each select 10'000 troops from the army corps, academies, guilds, and even from across the Neutral Grounds. This is entirely up to you as long as these individuals agree willingly and pass all necessary procedures. They must also agree to become Demonkin, which is why I suggest using official channels to obtain already loyal individuals.

You will each be supplied with everything at Legion level to grow your troops and officially be treated as Legion Commanders in matters related to the military. But this will all be on Azarath to conceal the new Legions and Demonkin." I answered neutrally as I took the role of Lord Azaroth.

My wording was also a small test to see how well the two learnt the Legion Codex, due to there being quite a few little bits of leeway in there to take advantage of. If one knew how to look.

"And after the 10 years? What happens to these Legions?" Kal asked with a pensive look.

"If they pass the marks to be named a Legion, they will officially become yours. These Legions will be your own military forces to utilize and maintain as long as you don't do things which would force me to disband them." I answered my son.

This answer gave my children quite the surprise. It was likely due to a multitude of reasons, but both needed to learn the lessons which will come by developing and leading their own armed forces. Kal needs this because he is still a bit too pacifistic in nature and requires some hardening, while Scarlet needs a bit more discipline to calm her over adventurous spirit and to learn some more responsibility.

I might want my children to be able to live their lives and find happiness, but I wasn't going to let that get them killed if a firm hand could fix some of their weaknesses. Psychological weaknesses mind you, these two were refined in many ways to make sure they could take on or escape nearly any foe.

"Understood." Kal finally said as he took his leave. "I'll bring Fran over tomorrow with the Doctor's writings."

"I'll let everyone know. The data on Demonkins and everything you will need to know for this test will be waiting at your homes." I replied as I watched him go.

"Does the winner get anything?" Scarlet then asked after he brother left.

"Yes. A personal creation of mine and Da Vinci's as a companion." I answered her.

"And I'm guessing telling will ruin the surprise." She stated, to which I nod with a grin. "Figures. Then I'll take my leave too father, mother. I'll come for supper tonight."

"I'll tell Liora." I replied with a warm smile.

"Enjoy your day my little warrior." Scáthach softly told her as she went and hugged our daughter.

"Thanks mother. I'll see you later." Our red haired girl responded before the two let go and she left.

"Do you think I'm doing too much my Queen?" I asked my lover with some worries in my heart.

I didn't want to push my children away.

"No beloved. They will understand, or at least figure out what you desire of them. They are both intelligent and talented after all." She answered me as she gently sat on lap and kissed me.

"Thank you." I lovingly said as I grasped her perfect body.

"My pleasure beloved. Now, let me help you relax~." She said with a heated look as her hands reached down to begin another of our wonderful 'stress relief' sessions.

-Kal POV

'I don't particularly like having to be so involved in military matters, but I guess father already knew that and that's probably a big reason why he's making me raise my own legion.' I thought as I walked through the halls of Castle Azaroth, greeting the servant staff as I go. 'He looked like he was forcing himself a bit, which kind of goes with how he usually is.'

I made sure to take my time carefully considering the task ahead of me. Remembering all the lessons I've had in school, from father and mother's peerages, and even the ones father taught as a lord to his heir.

From everything I remember, I will have access to my personal accounts and connections to improve things beyond Legion standards, I can request lessons from father's available peerage members, my own peerage members will count as officers in my Legion, and I can request temporary transfers from other legions if necessary.

Those would be my easiest options to get things off the ground. But for now I need to focus on recruitment. Father has taught me a lot, but these aren't things I put extra effort into delving deeper, so I will need to likely take longer than ideal to find the right people.

'*Sigh* Moka And Milim will probably not like that i'll be busier for the next few years.' I thought with a wry smile as I pictured the two of them being pouty.

-Scarlet POV

'I need to get someone who knows armies. I know warriors and how to fight amongst armies, but I don't know how to properly run one at the highest level like the Legions.' I thought as a briskly marched through the castle.

I knew Kal had more training on this front and he had father teach him about this stuff due to being the heir and me not really getting into any administration stuff, so getting someone with experience was crucial for me.

I'm sure I could count on my friends to help me, just like Kal will have his peerage, but they need training too. That means I'll need to talk to Aunt Diana and sister Altera regarding many things. Maybe even mother if things get drastic.

Damn, this means I can't go adventuring for a while and have to study too.

Kal definitely is better at logistical stuff and I know that he knows the Legion Codex, even if not as well as me, so I don't doubt that he's going to take advantage of it as best he can. But I need to either learn how or get someone to properly manage all the administrative stuff. I just can't do everything on my own.

'*Sigh* Why did father have to make us do this?' I wondered as I started to feel a bit chained compared to my usual freedom.

-Lith POV sometime later.

"Looks like the two realized the problems and advantages of the Demonkin rather quickly." I said as I read the last report on the progress of my children.

"It's not surprising. The data you sent was clear and anyone with any sort of instinct regarding these things would know the potential the Demonkin have." Scáthach calmly commented as she stayed impartial.

"True, but at least the two are coming into their own with this." I said with a proud smile as i looked at everything my children were achieving.

Kal had the much better start between the two. He knew what he needed and wanted to achieve, quickly recruiting the necessary numbers before hunting for extraordinary talents. A much stabler base, built on the systems already put in place and the education he has received so far.

I did get some whining from Milim and Moka about him being too busy, but that is part of Kal's lesson. He is a bit too well trained, but he never learnt how to properly delegate.

Scarlet took on nearly the opposite approach.

She decided to first focus on her elites and commanding troops, who the helped her build more specialized units within her Legion. She carefully selected people to help her run the Legion due to knowing that this wasn't her field of expertise.

Her problems lay more in how there is still a lack of proper cohesiveness. The specialized units being closer to their own group than part of a whole.

Both also took different approaches regarding how they developed their Legion's fighting styles.

Kal, because of his own unconscious bias, focused on developing their magical abilities for firepower and physical reinforcement, leaving them with only Legion Standard methods of engagement.

While Scarlet decided to go through skills, by refining their physical abilities to make each a threat in their own way.

I couldn't exactly say either was wrong, but my children were turning out to be the textbook example of 'extremes'. Kal being too methodical and set in what he was taught due to never being truly involved in war and because he forgot that, although Azaroth methods are considered 'the best', there is no 'right' way but only the 'best for you'. Scarlet wanted to give her Legion too much 'freedom' because of her own feelings, forming them into one which is truly unique to her, but forgetting the necessary discipline and cohesiveness needed to form an army which can truly be effective consistently on the battlefield.

Of course things hadn't gone perfectly for either of them.

Scarlet had to scramble, took many trips around Azaroth, had to convince and even beg some people to join her, then reincarnate into Demonkin. Those who didn't agree were of course sworn to secrecy or had their memories manipulated. It was likely to be the most stressful period of her life outside being trained by her mother. But she was a natural leader when it comes to something like an army. She bonded with her troops, developed trust, and knew where she herself would help or hamper others, thus bringing the right people for the right job.

Meanwhile Kal had to face the challenges that come with needing to inspire true respect and establishing one's own authority within troops. When people compared my son to Sirzechs, it wasn't an immaculate description. He wasn't as bad as the man, but my son wasn't fit to lead men into battle before this. Only now was he growing the proper prestige of a leader and ruler. This was facilitated due to his upbringing and personal power, but it remained to be seen if he would simply emulate me, staying in my shadow, or branch off.

"It looks like our daughter still has much to learn beloved." Scáthach stated with her expressionless face, before her gaze softened considerably. "But I am also glad of the growth she has achieved during this time."

"Hopefully she can finally find her path soon." I commented with some worry in my heart from the fact that she has been struggling to find her own way.

She doesn't want to just follow me, her mother, or even my other peerage members. That's mostly why she hadn't progressed in some time nor developed her own divinity. Scarlet has been trying to figure out her own 'core'.

"I believe she already has beloved." My lover responded. "But that is also why our daughter will lose to your son."

"Oh? And why is that my wise queen?" I asked playfully as I brought her to my lap.

"Because she is an adventurer and not a warrior." She answered with a hum. "Our daughter, as much as she idolizes some warriors, does not truly belong on a battlefield."

"*Sigh* Is it bad that I actually prefer for her to have found such a calling?" I softly questioned as i placed me head in the crook of her neck.

"Fufu~ Not at all beloved." She replied as she hugged my head and we enjoyed each other's touch. "In fact, I too am glad that my child found her calling away from solely battle."

It might be a bit strange to people who've only heard of Scáthach or experienced her warrior/trainer side, but she still very much cares for our daughter. We both want her to be happy and we know that it takes a peculiar kind of person to enjoy the constant battles, blood and death of war, so her finding a path outside of it is rather welcomed.

We just want her to have enough strength to never have to be forced to choose constant battles. So we very much support her desire for 'adventure', as vague as that is, over it.

-Astral Battlefield, Demonkin Legion test battle

Here one can see thousands of armored dark-skinned men and women clash fiercely in battle.

One side was extremely methodical as they stood in steady formation and followed orders strictly.

The other had a much more dynamic approach as they poked and prodded the enemies formations, used various units to either break them down or harass them.

Above them was the arial battle which was supported by the magical artillery units. This was a violent clash of magic as every element was being thrown around, 3D combat giving rise to many new angles to take care of, and often many of the soldiers relied on the color of armor or clothing to even identify enemies because of the incredibly fast pace.

-Kal HQ

"My lord, one of the harassement divisions from the Lady Scarlet's Legion has been wiped out! They moved as you predicted!" A soldier came in to report.

"We also received news that our ambush on those long range specialists has succeeded and that our baiting formation brought down those berserkers!" Another announced.

"Good. But my sister is no fool and will not take long to adjust. Send Fran and Karura to destroy her advanced position here." Kal ordered sternly as he indicated to the afore mentioned position on the holographic map.

"Yes my lord!" One of the soldiers responded with a salute before sending out the orders.

"Sir! We lost contact with part of our supply lines! Evidence suggested the thief units from Lady Scarlet!" Came a new report.

"Hmmm… Send a few squads from the scouting units to pick up a trail and hopefully find their positions. We can't let them harass our supply lines." Kal ordered swiftly.

"Sir!" The communication officer responded as he did just that.

-Scarlet HQ

"We just lost contact with miss Jesse and mister James!" One of the women in the communication unit announced.

"Damn. Brother isn't going easy by taking that position." Muttered Scarlet as she looked at her myriad of options. "Have Simian's unit rig the area here, here and here to further sabotage their supplies. Make them hesitate to want to commit too much for long term assaults."

"You got it boss Lady!" Was her answer.

"Dayne! Get your ass down to the front line with your heavies and make them focus on you while Gray and Natsu take their mage units to flank them!" Scarlet yelled as a large man in full armor nodded before going.

"Ma'am! Looks like your brother is looking for Sting's unit after that raid of his!" A male shouted.

"Rogue's already on his way to help him escape!" His coworker suddenly reported.

"Let those two handle that, but send an order for them to go help Simian once they wiped their asses." Scarlet told the two before they went back to do just that. "Also, tell gramps to bring a few groups to take down those forming that barrier!"

-Observation room

"These Demonkin are quite interesting. They make wonderful soldiers." Diana commented as everyone was watching the ongoing battle.

"I've heard they can be quite the worthy foes, but I prefer my student's troops." Musashi commented with a proud expression on her face.

"While they are the more appealing warriors, they are the weaker army." Scáthach countered with a neutral face.

"Scarlet has a bad army." Altera calmly commented.

"I am quite fond of Kal's usage of large scale casting and magical formations, but the way he using them is a bit uninspired." Medea said as she looked at Kal's rather textbook, but effective formations.

"Go babies Go!" Sera cheered in her cheerleader outfit, even though neither of the children could really see it.

Sera insisted that she could send them positive vibes regardless.

I wasn't going to question it considering her new divinities.

"Is it ok to have them fight like this?" The kind Gabriel worriedly asked.

"This isn't a battle involving hatred and no one will truly be harmed thanks to it being in the Astral realm, so don't worry too much Gaby-chan." Da Vinci answered as she helped manage everything.

"She's right Gaby. This is the best way for the two of them to learn important lessons." Jeanne reassured her friend.

"Just believe and support in them. I know you don't like conflict, but it's better here than out there." I told the angelic woman with a headpat.

"Indeed, but this battle is truly developing as we all predicted." Diana said as we all looked at the various displays showing us everything happening on the battlefield.

From the beginning Kal has been working on a steady plan of action as he works his way through Scarlet's defensive formations. Meanwhile Scarlet decided to use her main troops to stalemate Kal while her specialist units harass Kal's long range, supply and reinforcement units, probing or trying to create a weak point to make her brother pay.

The problem was that Kal was skilled in seeing the battlefield as a whole thanks to his abilities and figured out the flow quickly, gradually taking out Scarlet's units while progressing towards her Headquarters.

The only reason Scarlet was both maintaining her units and succeeding in her strategy was because of the double edged sword that is Freedom.

She gave her specialist unit captains the freedom to act independently if they chose, so this threw the rhythm of the battlefield off thanks to all their actions and the various decision makers.

It certainly eased the burden off of Scarlet, but it also limited her options for grand strategy because she couldn't handle the high level difficulty her system presented to perfectly utilize it, hence why Kal was steadily making progress.

On a separate note, the Demonkin were proving to be quite the race.

Although it was tough to have to readjust to their bodies and having to learn magic differently, in just ten years they have shown to be a near perfect race in terms of potential. Only below dragons in my mind in fact.

The only issues which came with becoming one, aside from previously mentioned things, was that one loses the ability to understand all languages of this world, gaining the three major ones from Azarath instead. So as a result we had to get some things ready to either cram knowledge of at least spoken languages into peoples heads or have a good way to accelerate the learning of them.

From our estimates, the 'lifespan' of Demonkin is also significantly lower than devils at around 1000 years for the weaker ones instead of 10'000. But it also looks like conception should be easier as a demon and that cross breeding wasn't an issue with Qunari, Asari or Faunus.

New Demonkin actually lost their 'Sin', just like mine has disappeared even if I still like recruiting people, as well as their inclination for them. They are a bit more aggressive, but it's easily controllable. It's a result of their closeness to magical energies slightly influencing their emotions.

These were good things to know and why we do large scale testing like this.

But back to the battlefield.

Due to time being rather accelerated in this astral battlefield, we didn't need to spend days observing the battle itself and were free to enjoy everything in one sitting.

Although it finally seemed like things were coming to an end.

Scarlet had overstretched her units and given Kal the opportunity to use his reserves to eliminate many in one fell swoop before committing to a full offensive.

As a result, Scarlet had to meet Kal with everything she had or lose then and their, including fielding herself as they all fiercely defended the fortress which served as Scarlet's HQ.

We had wanted to test both kids and the Demonkin Legions in all sorts of scenario, hence why both were given fortresses to take down.

-Astral Battlefield, 37 hours into the siege (3 person POV)

"Sister, why don't you surrender? Knowing when to do so can spare the lives of many. Don't sacrifice them and make them go through such pains, even if it isn't technically real, just because of your pride." Kal said as the two clashed once again.

They have fought multiple times during the siege, but even though Scarlet was weaker, she had a lot more experience and skill compared to Kal. He was much more peaceful in nature than his adventurous sister who loves swords.

This is actually part of the reason he hadn't tried to cross the boundary of Super Devil-class yet, because he did not continue to focus on his training after 'completing' all of the ones his family had put him through. And that was even more so after becoming a god, something he wasn't using at the moment because his godhood would make the entire thing pointless.

Kal had essentially fallen into the dilemma of many strong individuals, contentment.

Unlike his father, mother and many among their peerages, Kal did not have to truly suffer in life nor did he develop a desire for strength. He was born strong and was trained until he was strong enough to properly defend himself.

Afterwards, Lith couldn't force his son to train anymore because becoming a true Super Devil required understanding, not pure power. Sure you could have the power to fight a Super Devil, but without understanding a [Concept], you will be much weaker than one.

That's why Lith would actually put his son on Rizevim Lucifer's level as a Devil. He had the power to rival of a Super Devil, but without actually having a concept, both he and Rizevim fall behind. This is purely as a Devil mind you, Kal was incredibly powerful as a god thanks to Azarath's support. Likely reaching or surpassing the Trimurti.

Being part of the only Pantheon of Azarath, and the son of its creator god, gave many advantages over being an Earth god after all.

Scarlet on the other hand, she constantly trained with fellow martial arts enthusiasts, inheriting her beliefs in strength and skill from myself, her mother and Musashi, her teacher. She also had a plethora of experience by exploring, taking 'quests/missions', going on adventures and challenging strong individuals to duels.

So even though her brother was 'stronger', he was being matched through skill and experience.

But that wasn't enough to make up for her current lack of troops and top tier combatants to busy Kal's two Rooks as they tore through the fortresses defenses.

"Hmph! You might have won the battle, but I won the war." Scarlet responded with a confident smirk as she clashed with her brother with a powerful ice-attribute double edged Muramasa sword.

"What do you mean 'won the war'? This is our only battle." Kel asked with clear confusion.

"Well, you seem to have forgotten a few things dear brother." Scarlet said as she pointed her blade in the direction of Kal's fortress. "The objective wasn't to directly defeat each other's Legion, but to capture our fortresses."

"…You can't mean?" Kal asked in realization.

He looked at his sister's fortress to find far fewer dead, captured or still fighting than there should be.

"Let's go boys and girls!" Scarlet shouted as a flare sprung up from the fortress, followed by dozens of teleportation circles under her troops. "Enjoy the fortress."

And as soon as everyone was teleported, an enormous explosion occurred in the area of Scarlet's fortress as she reappeared in the middle of her real troops.

You see, Scarlet saw that she wasn't going to win in the current state of things, so she decided to 'flip the board' as it were.

To do so she enacted a three part plan: Have all her remaining specialist units 'die', hence making her brother no longer take them into consideration while luring his troops in, hold off her brother's Legion while her own slowly escapes using an underground route they had prepared beforehand, letting them regroup with the specialist units near Kal's now severely undermanned fortress, and then blow Kal and his Legion sky-high to make sure they couldn't 'take' her own fortress nor come to reinforce his.

And her plan actually worked as the remaining members of her Legion would actually be able to take the severely undermanned fortress, but unfortunately, that's when they all woke up.

-Astra Realm Synchronization Chamber (Lith POV)

"What?! Why am I out? I didn't die." A confused Scarlet asked as she looked around and found us waiting for her and her brother in deep thought.

"Because although you would have won, you lost Princess." I answered with a rather proud smile on my face for the decision she made.

It wasn't one I would strictly approve of, but it certainly would have won her the 'war' due to the enemy no longer being able to capture her fortress since it didn't exist anymore, while now owning the only fortress around and all the supplies outside those with Kal.

"But Kal didn't capture my fortress!" She replied rather animatedly.

"We never said one had to 'capture' the fortress, but to 'take it down'. Either of you could have won if destroyed the other's fortress as well." I answered with a shrug.

It was always important to look into the phrasing.

They both assumed that they had to capture a fortress, so that became the 'official goal' to win.

And the look on her face once she heard the words was soon followed by a facepalm.

"*Sigh* and I thought I could finally get one up on Kal." Scarlet finally said with disappointment.

"Scarlet, even though you didn't win this competition, I would definitely say you one-upped your brother today." I proudly told her, making her look up at me with wide eyes. "Even though you didn't train a proper Legion per say, you managed to almost turn the entire situation around by doing something not many would even think about doing and almost seized victory. It was a well executed plan."

"You made me proud Scarlet." Scáthach said as she came to her side and hugged our daughter.

"Don't worry Kal! You made mommy really proud too!" Serafall declared as she hugged our son and quickly embarrassed him by bringing him into her bosom to 'comfort' him.

"M-mother!?!" He cried out as he turned bright red.

"Hush now baby. Let momma make you feel better." Sera admonished as our son failed to escape his OP mother.

The sight maybe many smile teasingly and giggle, including my son's peerage members, causing him to get even more embarrassed.

"Sera, I think that's enough." I finally said after letting everyone have their fun at his expense. "He was just trying to comprehend having the board flipped on him so suddenly."

"T-that's right mother! I'm fine, but thank you for caring." Kal said as he did his best to look reassured.

"Really?" Sera asked our son with big, caring eyes.

"Yes mom. I'm fine. Promise." Our son softly said in front of his mother's loving and caring gaze.

"Ok." Sera said with a nod and giving a little peck on his forehead before getting up. "But don't beat yourself up too much. You're still young and don't have much experience. Training can only take you so far. The battle field is a very chaotic place which can turn on you at any moment if you don't have overwhelming force, so take this as a learning experience."

Seeing Sera make one of her rare 'serious' looks, Kal made sure to take her words to heart.

"I will. Thanks mom." He finally said as we all watched the scene, making him embarrassed again once he realized.

"Haha! Alright, let's get back on topic." I declared, causing both my children to focus on me. "Kal is officially the winner of this competition so he will be offered a new companion. Da Vinci, if you please."

"Ahem, this is Lazuli." Da Vinci said as the image of a a slender, curvy and beautiful woman of above-average height, fair complexion, shoulder-length platinum blonde hair, sharp pale blue eyes, currently wearing a skintight blue sports bra and workout shorts appeared before everyone. "She is our greatest work mixing technology, magic and some divinity.

We found her body half destroyed as a result of a supernatural conflict in the human world alongside her brother. They were both miraculously still alive, but Phoenix tears wouldn't cut it due to both missing too many parts, so we quickly entered them in our near finished 'Android' program as subjects number 17 and 18.

Unfortunately, her brother, who Lazuli later told us was named Lapis, did not make it through the process, but thanks to him offering himself so his sister could live, she managed to truly recover and become the first successful 'Android'.

She has near limitless energy, an incredibly powerful body which can adapt and grow like a human's, and quite the talent for fighting."

"Wait. I can't just win her like she's property!" Kal loudly said as he stood up.

"Oh, no need to worry about that Kal-kun~. Lazuli actually agreed to join the household after hearing about her current situation and her lack of knowledge regarding the supernatural. She was quite fine with joining your peerage or Scarlet-chan's group." Da Vinci responded in a casual manner.

"But still." My son replied with some uncomfortableness.

"How about this?" Sera began with a bright smile. "You take this girl home and get to know her properly alongside Karura and Fran-chan first before deciding."

"*Siiiigh* Fine." He finally said as he sat back down.

"Alright then. Now that this is over, it will be up to you to decide how you will handle your Legions. I look forward to it." I told my children as I took my leave alongside everyone else.

They would need a bit of time to come to turns with the rapid conclusion.

_______________________________________

EXTRA AUTHOR NOTES:

Welcome everyone.

I've been thinking lately that I haven't really put Lith's son or daughter in the story enough, with many agreeing, more so for the latter. So I thought to kill a few birds with one chapter.

Introduce the demonkin, which I could change the name if something better pops up, have the kids show up and just have a few more characters popping in for a bit of fun.

I've said this before but Kal's peerage isn't exactly important, so this is mostly for my fun.

Next up we have a little explanation on why Lith hadn't become even more powerful with an entire planet worshipping him until now. He will soon help everyone else merge properly with their godhoods as well.

The result will be that they are all pretty much going to jump right to the top of the food chain. So don't be surprised.

If anyone is confused about the time jumps, well essentially ten years passed during this chapter. It was basically Lith giving both his kids the amount of time he had to prepare for the civil and see what they could do with it.

Next chapter should have a big time skip, with some recruitment for Lith and Serafall. Gonna be going through the 19th century, so if you have a few suggestions for someone you might want added or mentioned from the 1800's to early 1900's, speak up now.

Hope you enjoyed.