Chapter 226: Tragic Flames ; Ring (1/2)
Seriously? Just like that? Isn't Norse Magic's summoning a little absurd?
Examining the beautiful young lady, whom she claims to be Jeanne d'Arc, I begin to deliberate on my battle with Loki.
During the rather anti-climactic battle, Loki had only summoned a few mythical begins and nothing remotely close to a globally recognized historical figure. In a sense, the mythical creatures that he summoned are related to him, while Jeanne is related to 'me'.
In my previous life, I had read a little about the woman and her achievements. Not only that, but I read about her end...
”Jeanne,” I say, ”What is the last thing you remember prior to arriving here?”
”I was being burned at a stake,” she responds without any hesitation.
Yeah. She's Jeanne, alright.
Nevertheless, what was that ability or power she used a while ago? I don't recall Jeanne being a legendary figure with absurd inhuman prowess.
”Father,” Gabriel's voice reaches my ears, startling Jeanne a little as she turns her head to examine Gabriel with curiosity apparent in her eyes.
”Have you all recovered?”
”Yes.”
”Where are Rias and her peerage?” I question while briefly looking around.
”They're on their way here,” she responds, ”Due to the intensity of the battle, they had to retreat to the far end of the city.”
”Alright,” I say before shifting my attention back to Jeanne who now has an odd look on her face.
”What's wrong?” I question.
Hearing my query, Jeanne takes a few seconds to think about something before asking me, ”My Lord, where are we?”
”In an artificial world that I refer to as the Arena. The purpose of which is to strengthen my children and provide them guidance.”
Jeanne nods her head once before looking around at the devastated city without uttering a word.
Knowing what she's thinking, a smile forms on my lips as I state, ”In a matter of minutes, this city will return to prime condition, with all the damage done to it getting reversed.”
The young lady's eyes widen slightly before she seems to realize something and nods her head.
Hah~ She's such an interesting lass. To the point that I had been unaware of the stinging pain all over my body due to my extreme loss of energy.
Well then, I reckon that having a short private conversation with Jeanne would be interesting. It would also grant me a general idea of her thoughts and beliefs, which is rather important if I'm going to be counting on her abilities.
”Jeanne,” I say composedly, ”Let's have a little chat, shall we?”
”Your wish is my command,” she immediately responds while leaning forward a little.
Nodding my head once, I turn to face Gabriel and say, ”Round everyone here. I will be back in a few minutes.”
”Yes, Father,” she responds.
Having said my piece, I reach my arm out to Jeanne who is still on her knees, beckoning her to take it.
She takes my hand and gets up from the ground before I pull her close to myself.
Seemingly not thinking of my actions as anything out of the norm, Jeanne has a serene expression on her face as she waits for me to proceed with what I have in mind.
Letting out a small sigh, I wrap my right arm around her slender body before using telekinesis to lift her off the ground a little.
The next moment, I dash into the sky with Jeanne, only to stop once we're a few kilometers high up in the sky.
In this position, I am presented with a better view of the wrecked city and the 'barriers' around it.
”Now then,” I say, ”Where should I begin...”
Being as smart as she seems to be, Jeanne asks me, ”My Lord, why are we here?”
”As I said earlier, this world is an artificial one that I use to train my children. As for the reason I'm training them, it's because the real world is in great danger.”
”Great danger?” Jeanne repeats as her brows quiver.
”That's right. You are aware of the existence of devils, right?”
A slightly perplexed expression appears on Jeanne's face before she ultimately nods her head.
”The ones that we fought against earlier were angels. They're the ones aiding me in my cause in the world.”
Naturally, I won't be telling her what my real intentions are with the Rift. I will leave that part for her to figure out.
”Currently, the devils are on the verge of declaring against me and my angels once again.”
”This has happened before?”
”Indeed. My mortal form has already ceased to be once before.”
As if she heard the most shocking revelation in her life, Jeanne's body shakes as her eyes widen by no small margin.
”Fret not,” I say, ”The reason for that was because of the limitations of a mortal body. Due to them, I was unable to make use of my true power.”
Seeming to have come to an understanding, Jeanne lets out a sigh of relief before looking at me with awe.
”This may come as a surprise to you, but not all devils are evil in nature,” I continue, ”Most were simply born as one with no power over it.”
At this moment, a solemn look appears on Jeanne's face as she seems to think of something rather important.
Taking this chance, I observe her and her attire with intrigue.
For her torso, Jeanne has a female-specific white chest-plate that reaches her thighs. At the top section of the chest-plat, a luxurious-looking cloth covers her breasts, while highlighting them. Attached to the skirt-like bottom section of the chest-plate is a long white piece of fabric outlined by a slightly dark shade of tapestry. The piece of fabric covers the back of her legs to her feet.
Her legs and arms are mostly covered by white armor with black cloth underneath for her comfort.
Apart from that, there are two other notable things about her attire. First, she has a curvy t-shaped metallic headgear with two cyan gems attached to the sides.
Second, she's wearing a gorget around her neck with a silver plate connected to it by a series of chains on either side. Attached to the gorget are two pieces of white cloth with a black lining that cover her breasts.
Overall, her attire compliments her firm and beautiful countenance, seeming to give her a rather 'heroic' appearance.
Hm... she surely wasn't burned while dressed like this, now, was she?
”Jeanne,” I say, interrupting her thought process, ”If it doesn't pain you, do you mind telling what exactly happened before you arrived here?”
”Of course,” she responds before recounting what happened without displaying any form of discomfort.
As expected, the subject was a rather heavy one. To put it in simple terms, she was escorted while dressed in a simple white cloth to a stake. On the way, she was showered with curses and pebbles from the onlookers.
Then, she was bound to a stake before it was alighted and burned her alive, as a method of punishment for her 'atrocious acts'.
The next thing she knew, she was in front of me in the Arena, brimming with power and comfort while dressed in battle attire.
”Say, what was that earlier? The thing you did to block the first attack?”
”I... don't know,” she responds, a little perplexed, ”It just felt like it would work, so I did it.”
Color me surprised. She fought against my angels and their abilities despite most likely having zero experience with the supernatural. It seems like I have summoned one heck of a prodigy.
Surely, there is a limit of sorts on my summoning ability, right?
{Affirmative. Currently, Father is regaining energy at a rate that's half of how it was prior to the summoning.}
Seriously? Does that mean she's consuming half of the energy I 'regenerate' to stay materialized?
{Affirmative.}
As expected, there is a limitation. In other words, if I were to summon another being similar to her, I won't be able to regain my energy unless I sleep or more favorably, sleep with a Code.