I will strive beyond this cursed bloodline!

'Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap.'

 

This wasn't part of the deal.

 

THAT THING WASN'T PART OF THE DEAL!

 

He was the proud son of one of the oldest organizations in the world, his family predated the founding of world powers! When skill users started to pop up, his family enslaved people by the dozen to experiment with them and distilled the most efficient way to power them up.

 

He was supposed to rise to the top, his family was supposed to take control of the world powers!

 

Of course, the rise of [The Twelve] led by [The American Crusader] stopped them, when [The Stygian Bane] cursed the world's most annoying skill-set into madness his family celebrated. Even if that killed one of their patriarchs.

 

It was a sacrifice for the best, they expected [The American Crusader] to waste away from the mana contamination, their spies did as much after all... And those records were sealed away.

 

How happy had he been when he found that story, thinking he wouldn't need to deal with a monster like the first [American Crusader], when he was inducted into [The Twelve] and granted the name and title of their patriarch he rejected it of course.

 

He wouldn't walk into the path of those that failed, he even remembers how he sneered at Jack for following the path of someone long dead, how wrong he had been.

 

"I will be [The Warlock]!" How futile had that statement be, instead of [The Devil] to be his one persona.

 

The smile on Jack's face made sense after his declaration too, "Welcome to [The Twelve]. Here is your new clearance." He had answered while ushering into a private library.

 

Where he found the [Truth].

 

The first and two most powerful beings in the world were still alive...A few of the people of the times when [The Stygian Bane] had lived were still alive and as young as they had been.

 

Most of the [True S Class] at least, and he...He wasn't an S-Class, not really if what he was reading was true. The amount of mana density one needed to truly be in that class...

 

It was staggering, that was the day he made his contract with a [Devil], it would be a stopgap at best, but it would allow him to tap into more power too, it was meant to be his [Ace], a secret card to play.

 

"Just don't let it run amok." That was all Jack said to him in passing the next time he saw him.

 

He was keeping his mana in check, he checked and rechecked himself, no leakage anywhere. "[...Do not antagonize him.]" His devil whispered into his mind. "[That is not human.]"

 

So when investigating the [Taint] he got contacted by [Someone] he ignored it, whispers from the dark lords or another [God] or [Devil] trying to broach into their world probably.

 

He only paid attention to the voice when it promised to give some trouble to Jack, and even then he mostly filtered it through his contracted demon. Who also didn't seem to mind it that much.

 

In introspective it was quite simple, teleport to Avalon, seed some taint and demons into a poor schumk, and plant a suggestion to attack a [Hero's House]. It was quite simple, he would be long gone and the effects of his mana would have assimilated in a year, the attack? Three years into the future, the plan would have muddled enough that no one would link it to him.

 

The day of it he was sure to be in the [Base] in sentry duty of course, he made sure his sister was with him too, Lucia complained but got with him nonetheless when his Seraphin told her to go. The thing was probably seeing [Fate]'s waves or something.

 

And when the alarms rang...He got worried, thinking that it was his crappy luck that he would not be able to see Jack's reaction...How stupid that had been, the mana readings broke all the sensors and locked into Avalon, where he got first line to see Jack's mastery over mana.

 

Somehow he punched the [Villain] obliterating his mana veins, overloading his mana core, what mages refer to as [Soulscape], and protected his [Life], and if that wasn't enough he threw him to the sun. Not in the figurative sense of punching someone into another country.

 

No, he quite literally punched someone hard enough to make him travel at escape velocity...He also protected his body with his own mana so he would survive...

 

Then, his wife tied spell after spell, so complex and custom-made that it would keep him alive, and if that wasn't enough, she tweaked his travel route so he would be stuck in orbit around the sun in the lower area, while also healing him...She was converting his suffering into mana then feeding it into a mana circuit that kept him alive...

 

It was..."[Beautiful]" Said his contracted demon, "You aren't tied to this in any way or form are you Giovanni de' Medici?" His sister asked.

 

Lucia had used his full name, "No." So he answered in turn, no way they could track it to him, not after Jack had burned all the mana in that man's body while Catherine was altering it in such a complex way.

 

All influence tying it to him was gone "[Thank you Gio. I have seeded the girl, shall we...]" The voice in the shadows started whispering to him "Lucia, can you [Cleanse] me?" And so he asked his sister.

 

She nodded and casted a high-tier light spell on him, his demon grumbled away but endured nonetheless, neither of them wanted any connection to whatever that thing had done.

 

He filed it away and made a stand against Jack of course, they even filmed it and gave it to the UN, the image of Jack defeating the [Twelve] was good propaganda to make his point stand, and he advocated for that fight to happen and explained Jack the politics of it too!

 

The man shrugged and helped of course, and he understood then why... He...didn't need to mind them, he could probably destroy the world, and if the amount of mana he could feel from that weird sports drink he used to serve them that mana potion was something to go by, they had probably done so already.

 

Both him and Catherine, so his stance in the family turned to one of damage control, just like his predecessor...Just like [The Devil] the original De'Medici member of [The Twelve].

 

So when his [Daughter] showed up with more [Taint] than he had seen in his whole life and reeking of corrupted mana...

 

He knew who it was before anyone else, the report of [Shadow Pact] was true, as someone that had allowed the [Taint] to go into his body to see if that was a good way to get more power (And cleansed it away) he could feel [The Call] from her.

 

That...That wasn't Elizabeth Starbright, daughter of Jack and Catherine. No, that was [The Stygian Bane] walking among the living once more...And it was his fault.

 

So when the girl asked for some [Action] he gulped and prepared to accept, what?

 

If your new overlord asks you to jump, you don't say yes. You ask 'How high?'

 

Or he wanted to, Jack's glare stopped him in his tracks, and the girl seemed to notice he was going to say yes and that was good enough for him either way. "She is underaged [Warlock]." Said in his no-nonsense tone, Jack.

 

"She also is going to be our new Overlord if things go like I think they are going to." I spat back pointing down.

 

I hadn't seen too much since my instincts told me to dodge or shield myself when the Shadow Spear came, but I saw enough.

 

The [Taint] was spreading once more, the thing that puppeteered the girl had called it all back half an hour ago, probably when she got into the body of Elizabeth.

 

But now? Now it was going down, straight to the leylines and searching for the [Core] of the planet, probably looking for the theorized [Soul] of the planet, the place where all the souls were supposed to go after death...And the place from where they came from when someone was to be born.

 

"No spoilers horny guy." Pured Elizabeth, and that made shivers go into his back, the image of a pretty girl winking his way with the knowledge that a macho from the old war was inside...

 

It didn't help the glare Jack was throwing his way either.

 

'Control your daughter...I mean your old boss!' Was the complaint running in my mind.

 

"What are you speaking about?" Asked the monk to his right.

 

"Are you okay Gio? You are sweating too much." Said the Juggernaut that was stuck to his leg.

 

If only he didn't know what the skill of that girl did he could run away, he wasn't paid enough to deal with these types of things!

 

"Ethan, what is he speaking about?" Jack said turning his attention to his daughter.

 

'Don't use that name! We will have to fight her if you admit [That] is [The Stygian Bane]!' Was the thought projected into my mind.

 

"[Brace up contractor, this will be a hard one...Do you want to upgrade from Premium to Delux?]" Asked in my mind the demon I was tied to.

 

It was a [Greed] demon so of course it wanted to rip my soul for everything it was worth, "If you guarantee my survival in a fight against Jack where he focuses on me...I will even sacrifice a country and my firstborn... I will even let you choose who sires my firstborn." Was my answer to that demon.

 

And since it was a communication from the soul he could feel my honesty...I would commit.

 

Of course, the little bastard said nothing back, not even an Arch Demon or a Duke could commit to that, our world just didn't have enough mana saturation to allow them to project fully, and I didn't hold enough mana density to permit a full descend on my flesh... Not everyone was Jack Brighton [The American Crusader]...

 

He could probably host the [Big Boss] if he wanted and had some mana to spare.

 

The [Girl] smiled sweetly and looked up to Jack "Oh shucks Daddy, if you ask like that I will have to answer you...." And did one of those girly twirls they like to do when embarrassed.

 

It only made his stomach revolt when thinking about it, he silently casted [Eyes of The Demon] to see his [Soul] instead of her body. That might help it, maybe the soul was normal?

 

"HAH?!?" And couldn't help but scream at the surprise, the soul...Was that of a girl!?!?

 

...Judging by age it was around 17 years old?

 

Wasn't that about the same age as Elizabeth?

 

What?

 

Did he get mixed with the girl?

 

"What? Never saw a girl fawn over a hunk Old-man?" Grumbled Elizabeth his way.

 

"Ah...No...Sorry...One of my spells gave me a wrong reading...Carry on...I will just...Go my way..." He answered while silently recasting it and checking it against the other people around.

 

Jack as always was just a mass of azure blue in the form of a blob barely contained, it was closer to a balloon about to burst than a human, [The Monk] was that of...A monk, big surprise there I know.

 

[The Juggernaut]'s Soul was that of a muscled spartan warrior almost three meters tall, who glared at him and made a motion to Jenna to get away from him, nice guy.

 

That little girl still couldn't communicate with him, she would probably at some point when older, but for now the poor guy was stuck like that, that skill was serious business, allowing her to incarnate older heroes?

 

Her amount of mana was also at the very limit of what a human body could tolerate... A fully grown adult human body, contained in such a small thing...

 

Yeah...He would need to give her more candy.

 

"Well before the horny guy interrupted...I used my skill [Proliferation] to kickstart the [System]" Said Elizabeth like the girl whose prank was found.

 

'The heck is she talking about?' Was what he thought, System?

 

Jack on his part only narrowed his eyes, did he know what she was talking about?

 

"There is no system in this plane, and [My Daughter] does not have enough power to do that...Nor [The Stygian Bane] of old had enough power to do that." Jack answered back at Elizabeth.

 

She only shrugged while smiling back at him "Oooh I know, I don't expect her to survive, but I will [Ascend] way before my body fails...Now...If [I] had [Your Seed]...That might just give me a sturdy enough body to survive." Elizabeth said while caressing Jack's chest.

 

*shudders*

 

Even seeing her soul and knowing [That] was female now, somehow. Was weird.

 

"I was planning on using her other half, but someone stole it from my [Prison], maybe Catherine? That spell did nothing after all...But why would she save another woman's daughter instead of hers?" Elizabeth wondered aloud.

 

And at that part [Shadow Pact] seemed to calm down, the man had been trashing in the back after Jack broke his jaw, he instead wrote on the floor with his shadows for confirmation of the last statement.

 

"Yes Maxy, I don't have your sister anymore, no. I don't know where she is...And yes I could search for her if you give me at least two hours of your time in a bed ♥" Elizabeth smiled while licking her lips at the last part.

 

Why was she so...Horny. It was almost like she had no control over her feelings like she was high...Like...Her body was sending alarms of impending death...Oh...She was going to die and her body knew it.

 

"Catherine? Yes...You did? But...Then...I see...Yeah, she will be mad. Did you tell her? No?..." Jack started speaking into his earpiece.

 

A quick search on the channels and none had activity...Was he using a private one?

 

"[Tinkerer], patch me into all private channels, code Black." I asked into my own earpiece using a pre-recorded message, even with all his abilities, Jack couldn't listen into pre-recorded messages that weren't sent from here.

 

"Currently there are no active channels, neither hidden nor private. [The American Crusader] and [The Stardust Explorer] are Offline so they may be using outside channels, but my skills don't pick up anything. Also, tell [Shadow Pact] that if he keeps spamming I will mute him." Answered back into his earpiece the girl that managed all their technology.

 

"Okay...No that will not be necessary...Yes...Love you." Finished speaking Jack.

 

"Oooh, right where it hurts, declaring your love to another woman while in front of such an adorable girl like me, that hurts Daddy." Mocked pain Elizabeth while grabbing her chest.

 

"Attention, this is a priority message from [The American Crusader]." Started speaking Jack while pressing the emblem that was on his chest, the emblem that symbolized [The Twelve].

 

"We have found a resurgence of [The Stygian Bane], fear not citizens for we have the means to stop it and prevent further damage...This however will put the world at risk, for while it will purge the world from [The Taint] that plagues [Shadow Skills] it will open us to another series of troubles." He spoke in that serious tone that he used in speeches.

 

"We take this step not without thinking but of necessity, we have suffered enough from [The Taint]...We have suffered enough from fighting among us... And [The Twelve] have suffered enough from this encounter...Sacrifices have been made and wounds have been endured...Members of [The Twelve] have suffered plenty of wounds from this." Jack took a pointed look at them and without taking a second...

 

I was wounded...

 

My left arm got severed at the base and the wound was closed using infernal fire in a second, that would make sure almost no healer in the world could fix it...Not even my sister's Seraphin could fix it fast enough.

 

How did that happen? I did it of course.

 

[The Monk] turned to me and nodded once, and a barrage of mana bullets hit him till he was wounded and almost unconscious on the floor.

 

Little Jenna looked from one to the other with a worried look on her face "It's okay, it's a play, go back to base and ask [The Prophet] to prepare for our wounds okay?" I asked her.

 

"Promise me you will not fight okay?" Asked in a pleading tone the most powerful [Normal] human on this planet.

 

That made me want to laugh at it, this girl was the third most dangerous member of [The Twelve], she could probably deal even with the [Kaijuu] the [Beastmaster] used...

 

So after a nod from my part and Jack "Okay, I will rush to get beds ready with Luci." She said while at her back a pair of white wings sprouted and on her feet, similarly a pair of wings materialized.

 

Now what was she incarning in that form? Hermes? Ikarus? Both?

 

She probably didn't even know what it was.

 

"We make this decision after suffering plenty in this fight...Look." Jack then activated a camera that panned around showing the figure of [Shadow Pact] wounded and bleeding all over on the floor, then turned to [The Monk] and Me, to then turn into himself.

 

Of course, his armor had shifted to one full of damage, probably one prepared for this kind of situation, no power in this world could hurt him after all, but the masses didn't need a perfect [Hero]. They needed one they [Thought] could fail like them.

 

"[The Twelve] will give a press conference after everything is settled, and we shall collaborate with The [■■■■■■■■■■■■] Conglomerate, The Eversoul Foundation, Kellet Enterprises and any organization that wishes to help us in this new world we are about bravely go in." Jack carried on with his speech.

 

He made sure his daughter was never in the focus of the camera, and Elizabeth didn't make an attempt to jump into it either, she only smiled more and more.

 

And he in turn only grimaced more and more...Was...Was he going to help [The Stygian Bane]?

 

Was he going to betray humanity for the sake of his daughter?

 

At least he had made the right choice of not antagonizing [The Stygian Bane]...But...It still hurt him, they were supposed to be [Heroes]...Even with the petty squabble, even with the plots and intrigue...Even with all the politics...They were supposed to stand together against evil!

 

Not..."WE WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO HELP IN THE ASCEND OF A NASCENT EVIL GODDESS!" He screamed with his soul.

 

Jack turned his way and smiled...Same as Elizabeth.

 

The difference? One was a placid smile while the other was a sadistic one, "Oh...The horny guy grew a pair of balls after all..." Elizabeth said while licking her lips, the eyes of a predator in her face.

 

He had more mana than her, his body held more mana than her, his magic was stronger than her [Shadows]...But even so, his legs failed him, he tried to raise his right arm to cast a barrage of spells only to find that it didn't answer to his commands.

 

'Oh right...I cut that one...' Was all he could think.

 

"Remember..."Came the voice of Jack, he probably had censored him already...This was most than likely being edited live time or something by The ■■■■■■■■■■■■ Anyway...

 

"...Always strive for more than you are." Finished speaking Jack, he was probably going to retire with Catherine and whatever [The Stygian Bane] left of his daughter.

 

Damnit all.

 

"And you remember, we love you Elizabeth." He said while kissing the forehead of his daughter's body.

 

Then...

 

His eyes were singed by the explosion of light, he only remembered seeing a flash of light that went straight downwards...And the smile of Jack.

 

The smile that stuck to the back of his mind for the rest of his life...

 

The smile of a man with a mission...

 

The smile of a man that would sacrifice everything for his family...

 

The smile of a man that was staring at death and telling it to suck it up, because [He would go on his own terms].

 

And it was such a cool badass smile.