Dxd: Master Of Shadows - Volume 2 Chapter 14 14

Woah.

I swam.

I swam and swam and swam and swam and swam and swam until I finally found an island. I don’t know how long I’ve been swimming but I’ve been swimming for quite some time now. It was absolutely swamtastic.

I got myself at the sandy shores of the island and laid hard on the ground, my arms felt like they wanted to rip themselves from the sockets and my toes didn’t feel like toes anymore, any longer and I would’ve had fins instead.

“Swimming for 1 week straight! I need a bloody boat and some food!”

I ignored my aching body and took out a stick from my bag, my whole time swimming, I had the bag on top of my head to prevent it from getting wet, for 1 week. Now, it’s time to pay your rent by giving me sticks!

I took a pretty long stick and got some thread, connected them a bit and searched my [MInd Library] for how to fish and how to make a…err…D.I.Y fishing rope. That’s what it showed, okay!?

I sat near the edge of a bridge, yes, this place has a bridge and laid out the bait while laying down.

“Wow. Fishing is peaceful huh”

I waited.

Patience.

Umu.

“I’m going to die fishing”

So, I said screw it and used [EX Knight of Owner] and [EX Mana Burst] on the rod to hit the entire sea in front of me, next thing a bunch of dead fishes came floating up and I had myself fish! I took a few more sticks from my bag and took out the ever handy fire starter stick!

After a few minutes of patiently spinning the stick, I got fire, blew some wood dust, boom! Fire! OOOH AHHH OOOOOH AHHH!

“Now then, I need knowledge of how to cook all these fish! [Mind Library]!”

I found myself at the usual room full of gigantic bookshelves, the topic I wanted was fish, cooking, grill. I got myself the topic about ‘Grilled Fish’, it showed me many ways to cook it but I chose the simplest and dubbed ‘Perfect Grilled Fish’ I don’t know but that’s what’s written here. I took another topic about fish, spices, grilled. It gave me a book about ‘Grilling Spices’, much to my dismay that all of the spices, save for some, were hard to procure, considering how I’m on an island.

After exiting from my [Mind Library] I did as I read and skewered the fish, keeping them at the fire and when they release a certain aroma, I needed to flip them. Do those once on each side when you’re cooking fish for many people to save time and twice on each side for the true perfect grilled fish of the Gods…it said.

You add spices before, and after the cooking for maximum flavor. And after I was done with all the stupid stuff, I laid my eyes at the grilled fish that was perfectly golden and crispy-looking, there was some fish oils slowly coming out from it and the smoke and aroma it had was enough to make my mouth water and my 1 week hungry black hole to growl.

“I thank the Gods of this place and the Gods of fishes for this breakfast!”

Nomnom!

W-what is this sorcery?! Why did my surroundings become the domain under the sea? I saw fishes swimming around me, they were smiling and they gave me fins ups. I found myself encased in a bubble of spices and it was warm, the world under the sea was beautiful and before I knew it I was back at the shore, in front of the fire I created and with the fish in my mouth…I was crying.

“H-H-How could I possibly create grilled fish like this?”

I laid down the fish and stood up to look at the horizon, the sun was beaming at me, making me dry quicker while the humid sea breeze slapped me with comfort. I felt the joy of becoming one with the sea, and I yearned for it.

(Try fishing for your fish friend, the flavor gets enhanced compared to massacring them)

“Why are you talking to me?”

(That’s not my purpose, friend. You have to learn magic)

“Why are you talking to me?”

(Because you, struggling with sticks and fire is irritating me, friend. Plus this might help you shorten your time inside this place)

“I don’t plan to stay THAT long in here anymore, roughly 2 more years and maybe a few months of leeway”

(Oh? Why is that?)

“I’m kind of worried about home, I have this stinking feeling that something is happening, especially the escape of Tigress, who knows what she could do with her size”

(Well, so do you want to learn magic?)

“Is magic even going to be useful, I don’t find shooting fireballs any enticing to my Rex Form”

(You have as much mana as a dragon, if you didn’t use it for anything other than improving yourself physically then you should’ve just waited for your mana to increase!)

I sat back down near my fire and continued to eat my fish, it makes sense but…what magic can I possibly find useful and complementary to my fighting style? Being a dual class mage warrior is a stupid idea that shouldn’t be entertained, it’s completely stupid in the case that you’re bound to favor one over the other someday.

(Stupid. Have you never heard of creation magic? Or in your case Gradation Air or Projection?)

“I’ll be honest, what the f.u.c.k?”

(You see your meridians have technically been swapped with ones similar to a dragon and so is your heart, unlike having a dragon core, you are more human because you have a heart instead)

“And what does that have to do with anything?”

(Your control is leagues above, and that means you can use projection, but don’t worry I won’t be teaching you ‘that’ projection, I’m teaching you my version so rejoice, friend!)

“I don’t get it, what difference does yours and that ‘that’ have?”

At this point, I’ve already cooked another round of 4 meter fish, and I was already chewing into it. It was so delicious that even a 10 meter fish would be gone in a matter of minutes, also I was hungry.

(Projection comes from understanding, ‘that’ comes from 7 steps that must be followed to create a perfect copy, mine is more leaning to faith and being a true magic)

“What’s a true magic?”

(Original magic, those that cannot be recreated by tec- any other means, for example, fire magic isn’t true magic, do you know why?)

“Because I can create fire using my fire starter stick?”

(Uh…yes, something like that. Anyways, my projection magic is special in a case that only me and now you could use it, and it’s also not possible to recreate, do you catch me here?)

“Yep…So how do I use it?”

(Simple, you just need to believe that the item you want to project exist, by believing that something is there and using mana to connect to the reality of things, you can create it in it’s original form! It’s similar to praying but you pray to yourself and your connection to reality and the universe, the phrase ‘And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it’ is somehow based on this)

I absentmindedly nodded my head and stretched out my arms in front of me, palms open, while eating my fish. I tried what he said, to believe that something is in my arms, channel my mana and use it to ask the universe to tell reality to give me what I want.

‘A spear, a 2 meter black spear that instills the coldness of pure death, no extra guards to the side of the blade, a pure long, straight spear with the sharpest of tips and the sturdiest of bodies, created out of the toughest metal in the world, this spear had the innate ability to repel life and accept deat-‘

And then I felt like my body died, I don’t know why but I felt my body die for about a minute before I passed out, it was a weird experience and only the voice in my head kept me awake enough to know that I passed out.

…

“HOLY CRAP!”

I sat up and looked around me, it was already night time, the fire was long gone and my fish was long gone either, damn pesky shits took it from me! I tried standing up but I felt wobbly, like I was out of blood. I fell back down not long after and when I looked to my right arm, a…woah.

An actual spear was there, it was black, straight with no other special guards and some shit, it was eerie like the feeling of death and when it touched the water, the water started bubbling before a fish floated up. I quickly removed it away from the water and just stared at the spear in my hands, it was big, hard and seemingly tough and sharp.

(WHAT ARE YOU DOING MAKING A GOD TIER ITEM?!)

“God Tier? This is a God tier item?”

(Yup! I’m proud but annoyed as well, proud because you got to do it at your first try and it was even a god tier! Imagine that! Annoyed because you are an idiot who has no sense of limit! Who wishes for a spear that is pretty much the scythe of death in a different form?!)

“Cool. So was I supposed to do something else?”

(Duh! With your mana you could create unlimited gold spears! But no~ you had to exhaust your mana creating a spear of death~ Oh~ So~ Great~)

I picked up the 2 meter spear and started twirling it in my fingers, in front of me, to the back, to the sides, spin it in my hands on one hand and throw it to the other before making the blunt tip land on the ground with the spear on my leaning on my shoulders. The speed was enough to create a fan like effect that blew some sand and caused the wind to gather around me, a sharp ‘Tack’ resounded throughout the island after I stopped, the sound mainly came from it stopping on my shoulders but some is from the wind.

(Woo, you look badass don’t you~ anyways, that spear is…apparently special, I don’t mean special as in just that, but it has a special move)

“Special move?”

(Yep, you asked and the universe answered. Frigus Aurora, the spear of chilling dawn or more loosely coined as Death’s Dawn, a grim reaper’s scythe in the form of a spear, all for you)

I looked at the eerie spear in my hand, it seemed alive, but reeks of death. It’s like, it’s entire body was created using a Hades’ blood and body. I went near a tree that was just standing there and poked it with the spear, at first nothing happened but that was on the surface, as soon as I pulled it out, the tree turned into dust, it disappeared and was completely dead, no trunk and whatnot just gone…

“Umm, isn’t this dangerous?”

(No shit! Its power magnified because of your [EX At the Boundary] a spear of death with the degraded version of a skill that only a original grim reaper has, making you apply instant death every single strike if the target doesn’t have true immortality or is a God)

“This can kill demigods?”

(More like, when does it not kill a demigod, friend, an important advice, don’t use that spear for anything else unless you want to be chased by Gods and Demons for having that spear!)

“Whatever, I’m getting dinner, what’s the skill called?”

(What skill? That’s true magic you have just learned! That’s the fourth true magic! Faithful Wish! Creating anything with the limits being your belief!)

I sighed, seriously, whenever this voice is around I get tired a lot and just straight up bored and unwilling to do much. It’s like it’s my motivation’s antithesis, created solely to keep me unmotivated by motivating me. I looked at the sky again, on top of it, the presence of the thing I want to get remains, I looked at the spear in my hand and with a little thought about what to do, I decided to just rush this entire place.

“If dino-lion is the strongest then the others won’t be as much as strong right? Plus with this spear, I can kill them easy right? Can you tell me exactly what this spear can do?”

(It functions similar to Gae Bolg, but the main difference is that it’s more akin to writing a name into death’s tablet. As long as you wish for someone to die and you threw the spear with all your might, it will hunt out it’s target and kill, there is no way to stop it unless you are truly immortal or a God which has no death or the power of the throw is lacking, one way or the other)

“Cool, how do I use it?”

(You want to use it now?)

I kept staring into the horizon, if I wanted to finish this then I’d have to do it quickly, all I need is my target and the power to throw it to reach him.

“Yes”

(Just chant this words: The black chilling dawn, the alternative scythe of the reaper of life, all is returned back to the spear for the spear is the envoy of death, Death’s Dawn, write unto the tablet of the dead, the name of the already marked, reach and end, find and finish, ______ you are already dead)

“Noted, but how do I get the name of a probably nameless beast?”

(Gather a million souls, and ask a favor from death, the name of the one written in the tablet of the dead)

“Cryptic…”

(I had to, it’s the only way to explain it)

I stretched for a bit and did a few warm up strikes and sweeps with the spear. Today, I’m killing a million fish.

________________________________________________________________________________________

A boy with orange hair was in the middle of the sea, he was quietly laying down in the lull while a fishing rod was on his side, whistling like nothing was out of the normal and it would seem so until you realize that the water around him was full of dust like particles, it was too much that the area 100 meters around him covered in the dust like particle.

The fishing rod started shaking and he opened his eyes, he had a happy grin in his face as he grabbed the rod and fought for the fish, with only a few minutes, he managed to pull out a gigantic fish, about 12 meter is size high in the air covering the sun.

“You’re my 999,999th fish!”

He took out a black spear and stabbed it straight in the gut, the fish turned into dust like particles that scattered and joined with the ones around him, the boy’s face slowly shifted into a smile, a smile of someone close to a goal of madness.

“Finally! I can try this spear out! HAHAHAHAHA! FINALLY!”

Unseen to the eyes of someone who watches from afar is the fact that the hair of the boy was slowly turning purple, his empty eyes were also turning purple, his skin was turning paler than usual, but what was more shocking was that his spear, from the straight plain black spear it originally was, turned into something grander, the sharp tip of the spear was now more scary and it grew in size while the aura of death reeked from it like a broken dam (The spear from the cover photo)

(Victor! Control yourself! Death is corroding you!)

“SHUT UP! Don’t sully the thrill! HAHAHAHA!”

The boy kept laughing and laughing until his hair changed to a complete purple, then he stopped. Suddenly, eerily, as if something else has taken over him, or so it seems but the creepy smile he has in his face said something else.

He was about to do something.

“Oh spear of chilling dawn, tell me the name of the one who I seek to be my millionth soul”

A crazy cold aura wafted from the spear and the mist it created converged, creating a skeleton, the mist acted as it’s hood before it materialized using the mist, a tablet, there wrote a name, a name that not even Lake knew but since he was chosen to die, his name has been revealed. This was none other than the whale-lion, the glassed whale.

“Perfect! Now LET’S START THE EVENING BELL!”

The sound of bells chimed throughout the sea, far and wide, all the fish who lacked the immunity to fear lied dead, floating up, those who were considered mighty in the southern den quaked in fear, turning back and running back to their corals and respective homes. Even the leviathan, although a fake, hid in fear at the sheer amount of death released. At last, the boy stood up he, held the spear in front of him with both arms, as if praying.

“The black chilling dawn”

“The alternative scythe of the reaper of life”

“All is returned back to the spear, for the spear is the envoy of death”

“Death’s Dawn, write unto the tablet of the dead the name of the already marked”

“Reach and end, find and finish”

“Inhlanzi Yokuziqhenya! You are already dead”

Victor glowed purple, his muscles bulged open, the spear was covered with a black aura and then soon red crack like lines appeared, the jet-like purple aura then spread towards the spear, enveloping it like a hungry beast, Victor crouch and held the spear to his right in a throwing position, the jet like power cracked the floor of the small but just enough that barely any water got through, when the peak of charging was reached, he took a step full of power, it cracked the boat this time making the boat sink but using the momentum he threw the spear and screamed the name of the spear’s ability

“CERTA MORS!”

VOOOOOOOOM!

A jet like sound caused ripples on the water, causing an effect similar to how Moses cut the red sea, the only difference being how this was a little deeper than the red sea, the sea parted but with no miracle, just pure speed and strength, it seek only it’s target, one hit, and his name was on the tablet of the dead.

And before Victor realized it, a blue key appeared in front of him, it had the shape of a whale and seemed to glow an electric blue, confused, and with doubt, that’s the feeling Victor felt from the key before he passed tried his best to reach the nearest shore and passed out.

________________________________________________________________________________________

*Whale-lion death PoV*

“A truly troubling phenomenon…A random schmuck is massacring my fellow fish-lion? How could that boy even gain such ability, Tigress said he was weak and a coward, did she perhaps lie to me as well?”

The whale-lion, or now known as Inhlanzi Yokuziqhenya, meaning fish of pride, was floating silently at his home under the sea when the sound of bells chimed, it seemed so close, so loud, so…distracting.

CLING CLING

“WHAT IS THIS NOISE!”

CLING CLING

“WHO ARE YOU! SHOW YOURSELF!”

Inhlanzi started creating random waster wh.i.p.s and striking anywhere. He was truly going to lose his sense of hearing if it continued, but suddenly a voice whispered into him, it was cold, eerie, a voice that needed some cough drops.

‘Y̸̡̑o̷̻͝u̷̡͌r̶͉̋ ̷̗͂ñ̴̻a̴̪͝m̶̖̚e̴͕̚ ̸͕̆i̶̱͝s̶͇̋ ̸̤́ä̷͍́l̵̠̈́r̷̞͝e̶͖͑a̴̭͝d̷̬̐y̶̝̎ ̷͕͂w̵͙͠r̴͇̾í̸̢t̵̟̓t̶̜̃ȩ̴̈n̴̖̋,̶͕̽ ̷̫͐o̶̹͘h̶̭͠ ̸͇̕ḿ̷̲i̷̦̇ļ̸̔l̷̩͌i̶͒ͅo̸̱̿ṇ̴̀ṫ̸͓h̷͉̑ ̴̧͌s̷̲̓o̸̯̎u̴͙̓l̷̒͜,̶͚̂ ̵͑ͅc̵͎̾ò̵͍m̵̖̊e̷͔̔ ̸͚̽b̵̜̊a̴͇̐c̷͚̄ḱ̵̙ ̶̯͂t̶͓̐ȯ̶̙ ̷̬͛ṭ̶̑h̴̫̓ḙ̵̂ ̶̛̹b̷̞̆e̵̦̋g̴̞̔i̶͙͝ñ̵̘n̵̥͊ĭ̴̪n̷̽ͅǵ̸͜ ̶̹͝a̸̢͊n̷̡̋d̴̤͋ ̶̰͋r̷̬̆e̶͈͌ş̵̾t̵̮̊ ̷̤̂i̵͈͗n̸̮͂ ̶̜̀p̶̣̋è̴ͅa̷̼̔c̸̛̥e̴͕̿,̸̠̔ ̵̩͆y̴̮̔o̷̜͑u̸̟͠ ̶̖̒h̷̩̿a̶̖̒v̷͉͝e̶͕͂ ̷̛͜h̵̰̓e̷̪̕á̶͔ȓ̷͈d̵͙̅ ̷̡̌t̶͒͜h̷̳͋e̷̤͒ ̷̻͝ë̵̥́ṽ̵̗ẻ̷͈ṇ̶̉í̵̧n̴̨͗g̶͖͌ ̶̞̕ḇ̶̎ę̷̊ḷ̴̍l̶̻̓s̵̞̎ ̴̺͝a̵͙͂n̶͍̄d̸̬̃ ̴̙́ẗ̵̳ḫ̶̓e̸͎̎ ̵̟̎s̵̢͘ṗ̸̧ĕ̶̯ä̶͉́r̸̺͂ ̵̮̂o̷̩̿f̵̠̏ ̵̭͒d̵̬́e̴̖͛ȁ̶̜t̶̤͝h̸͖̋ ̴͓̎h̶̙̎â̸̮s̵̛͍ ̴̗̊a̵̩͝l̴̩͆r̷̘͆ȩ̷̀a̸͉̕d̶̪̕ÿ̸̗́ ̵̙̏p̵͕͆í̶̗e̷̢̅r̸̜̐c̶͉̈́ẹ̴̀d̸̗̈́ ̶͍͐ỷ̶̜ȯ̵͎u̸͓̓’

“Spe-”

VOOOOOOM!

And then he was gone. His castle, the sea he floated on, the poor fish-lion’s near him, all gone without him even knowing how.

If it is your time, and the evening bells has chimed, death won’t ask, death won’t listen, all death will be is your end, and you would not be able to know.