Chapter 40: 39th Adversary: Ishmavael
Miko looked at his regalia, which had taken a form similar to his with a curious gaze.
"Regis, huh? Your name has King in it. I like it."
Miko nodded.
"Did you choose it yourself?"
"No. It was engraved in me. It represents my purpose and existence."
Regis answered.
"I see. So you're a living regalia."
Momo approached her and started to examine her as if she was a rare specimen.
"I've never seen a human regalia before."
"For the time being, we need to get you dressed. I don't how I would explain having a naked little girl in front of me."
Miko said.
"Wouldn't it be fine? Most people already think you're female, so you won't seem like a pervert right away."
Tia laughed.
Miko frowned, but he couldn't say that what she said wasn't the truth.
"As for her clothes, leave it to me."
Tiamat waved her hand and a beautiful azure one-piece dress appeared in her hands.
"Oh!"
Regis's eyes lit up and she hurriedly grabbed the dress and put it on.
"Thanks, Mama!"
She said with a cute smile.
"Mama?"
Miko was confused.
"Yeah, I'm born from her will and blood, so she's the equivalent of my mother."
(She's surprisingly intelligent. Are all living type Regalia intelligent like this? Also, how many can actually take a human form?)
Miko suddenly became interested in the weapons called Regalia. He felt a strong urge to steal a Regalia and study it.
"Wait."
He looked at Tiamat.
"Can you steal a Regalia?"
"Yes. But if you let someone steal or capture your Regalia, it's like letting them steal your proxy identity. Also, if your Regalia gets destroyed, it will cause a severe backlash to me, unless you take all the backlash upon yourself which could destroy you. Otherwise, it wouldn't be strange if I fall into a coma or worse. So be careful. I'm literally handing you my life here."
Tia warned.
"I'll be careful, don't worry. But how do you destroy or steal a Regalia?"
"Only a proxy can steal a Regalia, but anyone can destroy a Regalia if they're strong enough."
Regis pulled his clothes.
"Since you're like my older brother be sure to protect me, okay?"
She showed a bright smile.
"If you're trying to enchant me, you're wasting your time. My real sister is far more adorable. You have to try harder than that."
Miko said proudly.
"I see. I'll take note of that."
Regis took a notepad and started to write it down. When Momo saw that she thought-
"My god, now there's another idiot."
"Anyway, Regis. You have quite the power and seem to be intelligent, you're perfect in my eyes."
"Thank you."
"Alright, time for another sword."
"….Huh?"
"I want another sword."
"…I haven't even been alive for a day, and I'm already being cheated on? This isn't a good sign."
Regis let out an exaggerated sigh.
"Sigh all you want, but I use two swords. So unless you can duplicate, I'll need another sword."
Miko placed his hand on Regis's head.
"But don't worry. I won't settle for anything inferior to you. I will only use the best of the best, like yourself."
"…..Well, I guess that makes me feel a bit better, but I still don't like it."
Miko smiled gently and rubbed her head.
"Then what if I make you my primary sword? My #1?"
"…Fine. As long as I'm #1."
"Did I just witness someone seducing their sword?"
Momo was baffled by what she saw.
"It seems like Miko has what it takes to be a playboy. I guess it runs in his blood. Although Regis was a bit too easy, she's young, so I guess it's ok."
"No. That's a sword we're talking about. There are a thousand things wrong with this scene."
Momo protested.
"Tia, you said there was a demon sword in the treasury, right?"
Miko asked.
"Yes. Ishmavael. Are you going to collect it now?"
Miko nodded.
"I see, but I should warn you. That child is very aggressive and unreasonable. I'm not 100% sure you'll be able to control it."
"Aggressive and unreasonable, huh? Then that makes the two of us."
Miko spurted his Dragon wings from his back and looked at Regis.
"Can you fly?"
"I can, but I don't need to."
Regis turned into an azure light and wrapped herself around Miko's right hand. When the light faded, a black glove with an azure Dragon emblem on the back appeared on Miko's hand.
"Oh? This is pretty convenient. This way I can conceal you and turn the tables on my enemies and kill them."
Miko was all smiles when admiring the glove.
"I'm glad to be at service."
Regis's voice came from the glove.
"Alright, to the palace."
The royal palace of the Dragna Empire. This palace was constructed way back during the era of the gods. It was built on the ruins of a previous palace that was built by the people, who lived in this country before Augustus took it over. As the paternal progenitor of the Dragna clan, Augustus made this palace with the intention of it being his clan's symbol of power. It was located in the heart of the capital. In fact, its yard which was used as the residence of the entire Dragna clan took up half of the city. Including the palace, the yard measures over 1000 square kilometers.
When Miko arrived at the palace, he frowned.
The palace was white and gold and looked extremely magnificent. It looked like a place where a god would live. However, for Miko, this place was only a place filled with bad memories.
Since most of the Dragna clan resided here, he had to endure their discriminating stares and harassment growing up. Hence, he didn't like this place. The reason being-
"I want to blow this place up."
Every time he came here, this was what he mumbled.
"For the millionth time, you can't blow up our home."
Momo said.
"I don't live here, so I have no problem at all."
They approached the gate that led to the yard. Upon seeing them, the guards saluted. These guards served the Dragna clan, hence they didn't dare to stop any Dragna member from entering what could be considered their home. It didn't matter who they were. When they saw Tia walking beside Miko, they quickly realized who she was and bowed in silence. Tia ignored them and entered the royal yard with Miko and Momo.
In the front of the palace yard, there were various statues made of gold. There were a lot of statues of Tia as well as Augustus. There were a couple with both of them side by side. Miko walked and saw a statue that greatly resembled him. This was a statue of his grandfather, the current emperor. All these statues were worthless in Miko's eyes, despite them being worshiped daily.
"To go down to the treasury we need the emperor's permission, right?"
Momo asked.
"I don't know if the guards will let us in. Especially since it's Miko and myself."
Miko is one thing, but Momo had most of her rights as a part of the royal family stripped from her as an infant. So it was obvious that her request to enter the treasury would be denied.
"Ah, just leave that to me."
After waking through the palace for a while, they made their way to the stairway which led down to the treasury underneath the palace. As they expected, the entrance was heavily guarded.
Tia smiled and approached those guards with Miko and Momo behind her.
"Your Grace?!"
Upon seeing their patron goddess in front of them, the guards all kneeled in front of her.
"I want to bring Miko and Momo down to the treasury to take some stuff. I hope that's fine with you?"
"B-But, Your Holiness….Only the Emperor and whoever he permits can enter the treasury. Even then, he can only put something inside, he can't take anything out."
The guard who looked like he had the highest authority spoke up.
"Says who?"
"Your husband, Augustus Dragna."
"Oh, I forgot about that. Anyway, I'm overwriting it."
"Ma'am?"
"What? Am I not allowed to?"
"No, I would never suggest anything of the sort! Your words are law. Just say the word and we'll comply."
Guard quickly said.
"Then, let us pass."
"Right away!"
The guard signaled and all the guards moved out of the way and unlocked the door which led to the treasury. The trio walked past the guards who didn't dare to look at Tia. When they entered, the guards quickly locked the door to the stairway and resumed guarding it.
"I wonder what Her Holiness wanted from the Treasury?"
"Silence! It's not our place to ask such things! Resume your tasks!"
"Yes, sir!"
Meanwhile, the trio was walking down the golden stairway, which led to the treasury. The gold stairs had the ability to glow in the dark, which illuminated their path. In this dark place, the gold steps were all they could see.
"All those guards were pretty strong. I don't think I could defeat even the weakest one."
Miko said.
"Of course. What they're guarding is literally the blood of the Dragna clan. They can't be weak guarding such a place."
Tia replied to him. They walked until they saw the stairs end. They stepped off the last step.
*Flash!*
At that moment, the entire place lit up and everything became clear to them. They saw a corridor and a giant black door at the end. They quickly approached it. The door had an insignia of a red eye on it. Tia walked up to the door and placed her hand on it. The door flew open with a deafening sound. A gold light rushed out and further illuminated the corridors.
"Let's go."
Tia walked in with Miko and Momo following behind her.
"Woah."
What they saw inside was a world of riches.
Inside the treasure vault was huge. There were mountains of gold and jewels. There were all kinds of weaponry hung up in glass cases. Some are beautiful and attractive. Some crude and terrifying. There were countless suits of armor on display, all in glass cases with labels. To the sides, there were hundreds of bookshelves with books that gave off an ancient aura. There were also scroll racks with thousands of scrolls. As well as a lot of art like sculptures and statues.
Although it was a treasury, there wasn't only gold, there were legendary weapons, priceless training manuals, magic books that held the secret techniques of the clan made by Augustus and his five generals, archives that recorded what happened during the war, and most importantly, the bodies of Augustus and his five children were immortalized into gold statues there.
Each and every item here could send waves across the world. However, they only came for one thing.
"Ishma should be in that direction."
Tia pointed at a mountain of gold coins some distance away. After seeing how far it was, Miko started to wonder just how large was the treasury. He couldn't see the ending no matter how hard he tried. They made their way to the mountain of coins and saw a black case, which was made from unknown materials at the peak. Miko took a leap and arrived at the peak and looked down.
The case had a green crow design on it and was wrapped with chains.
"So this is Ishmavael?"
Miko placed his hand on it.
*Bam!*
Miko was blown back as if he was hit by an invisible force.
"Miko?!"
Momo hurried to his side.
"Are you okay?"
"Looks like it rejected you."
Tia walked up to him.
"I told you it was an unruly soul. It didn't even bother to check you out and just flat-out rejected you."
She shook her head.
"…..Damn, piece of metal!"
Miko shook Momo off and charged toward the case. He grabbed it.
*Boom!*
He was blown back by the shock again. However, he held on to the case. They both flew off the gold mountain and crashed into the ground.
*Boom!*
Green static was sent into his body again and almost cut off his consciousness.
"Nah, you shitty sword! I'm not letting you go!"
*Boom!*
As if it got pissed off, Miko was hit with twice as much green static than before.
"MOTHERFUCKER?!"
Miko cursed in pain. But he still stubbornly held on.
"W-W-What? Did I piss you off, you hunk of scrap metal!"
*Boom!*
He was shocked again.
"SHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTT?!"
He screamed. His blood was flowing from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, but he still held on.
"Y-Y-Y-You still ain't shit!"
Miko braced himself for another shock.
"Hm?"
However, it never came. Instead, he felt his mind being dragged somewhere. The next moment he opened his eyes, he was in a dark place.
"What the fuck is your problem?! God, you're so annoying!"
He heard a voice shout out. The voice was deep and inhumane, so gender was hard to figure out.
"Are you Ishmavael?"
"Yeah, and you're pissing me off!"
Miko smiled.
"Good. Ishmavael, I heard you're untamable. What does it take for me to wield you?"
"Wield me? Are you a pervert or something? Do I look like a sword to you?"
"Well…yeah."
"I'm not! So I refused to be treated as one!"
(Ah. Tia did say Ishmavael was originally a demon that was sealed away by its brother.)
Miko recalled.
"My apologies. I heard you were a powerful demon, but what did you do to be sealed away by your brother?"
"I did nothing wrong! Just because I accidentally killed the son of a powerful god, and caused a war that nearly destroyed the world, he turned me into a sword! It was an accident, it wasn't my fault my foot slipped and kicked the guy's head off! And I also didn't mean to slip on a peel and massacre his whole family! It could've happened to anyone!"
"...…"
Miko didn't know what to say after hearing that. He honestly thought Augustus' Best Friend did the right thing by sealing away such a person.
However, he still needs its power.
"Hey, Ishmavael."
"What?"
"What if I help free you from this sword?"
"That's impossible. Only my brother knows the method to unseal me."
"What if I find my own way to free you?"
"Don't screw with me, brat. You want to find a way to destroy a seal created by a Demon God who can rival Lucifer himself? Keep dreaming!"
(Rival Lucifer? Just what kind of comrades did my ancestor have?)
"I can because I'm the man who will be the Supreme Being. Whether it be Augustus, Lucifer, etc. I will surpass them all."
"Pfff! Hahahahahahaha!"
Wild laughter echoed through the dark world.
"I knew you were stupidly stubborn, but I didn't expect you to be arrogant to the point of retardation!"
"This coming from a forgotten relic."
The laughter immediately stopped.
"What was that, brat?"
"You heard me. You're a forgotten relic. I'm sure you were a famous person during the war, probably someone whose name struck fear in their enemy's hearts. But that was over 10,000 years ago. Now you're spending your life in a dusty and gloomy place like this. And in a box too."
Miko smirked.
"You're just a piece of junk in everyone's eyes."
"YOU LITTLE SHIT!"
Ishmavael loudly roared.
"How dare you?! How dare you, you waste of sperm?!"
"Did I speak any lie? You're just laying in a box waiting to rust away. Is that the life a great person lives?"
"Shut up! What do you know?!"
"I know you want to be freed from your pathetic life. And I also know your pride has pushed away any possibilities of that coming true."
"....."
"I hit the mark didn't I?"
Miko showed a playful smile.
"Shut up. It's true I want to be free, but I doubt a brat like you can do this."
"Oh? Didn't I endure unbelievable torture just to talk with you?"
"That's just your greed and stubbornness."
"So what? You need greed and stubbornness to conquer this world. Greed represents your ambition. The stronger the greed the greater the ambition. And stubbornness shows a strong will. The stubborner the person, the stronger the will."
He spread his arms open.
"I have the greed to devour the world and the will to see it through no matter the cost. There is no better person to bet on to surpass your brother than me!"
"….You speak a good argument kid. Very good with words."
A green light envelope Miko.
"However, words aren't enough to convince me. I need to check your ambitions and talent. If I don't find them satisfactory, don't even think of leaving here with your mind intact."
The green instantly entered the deepest depths of Miko's soul.
"Hm?"
Miko saw a pair of green eyes open up wide in front of him. He could see signs of them in shock.
"Kid….You're an Irregular."
Ishmavael's voice was trembling.
"How can this be? What kind of power is this? It's boundless and terrifying."
He could hear Ishmavael making various comments while probing his soul.
"With this much power and potential, surpassing my brother won't be a dream. But you're an odd one kid. It doesn't seem like you can control your Irregularity, because of that this boundless power you have is actually suffocating and is trying to break out."
Ishmavael suddenly became quiet.
"Alright, I see that you're qualified to partner up with me."
Miko smiled.
"Also it seems like you possess the power of two higher beings, although one of them has a revoltingly familiar feeling. Add that with your strange Irregularity, you really might be able to take this world as your own. It's certain if I grant you my power as well."
Suddenly Miko's mind returned to reality.
"Miko are you alright?"
Momo asked. Miko nodded in response.
(Alright, kid. I've decided to partner up with you.)
Ishmavael's voice echoed in the room.
Miko heard a click and the case opened by itself. He saw a crude black sword inside.
"Damn. The years haven't been kind to you."
(Shut it. Just grip the handle.)
He did as they said and gripped the handle.
"Hm?"
The moment he did, the crude sword transformed into a beautiful black sword with green waves on the blade.
"It copied me!"
Regis turned into light and appeared in her human form.
"I'm suing you for copyright infringement, you fraud!"
The sword in Miko's hand looked identical to Regis' sword form except for the color of waves on the blade.
(It can't be helped. I just took the form he's most comfortable with.)
At that moment, spikes came from the handle and stabbed into Miko's hand. He didn't throw away the sword and watched as his blood flowed down the sword's blade. The moment the blood reached the tip, strange runes started appearing on the blade. The blood moved on its own and traced the runes before assimilating into the sword.
(The contract is set. We're officially bound together until I'm freed from this sword.)
The sword lit up and turned into light particles.
"With the help of your blood, I'm finally able to take my human form again."
The light took a humanoid shape before disappearing leaving behind a naked person. They had a beautiful androgynous face, black hair with green endings, and a pair of green demonic eyes. They were shorter than Miko and looked a bit younger.
This was Ishmavael Diabolus. Child of Lucifer and an unknown demon.
When Miko saw them-
"Another little girl?"
He placed his hand on his chin again.
"Do I really have such a fetish? Should I turn myself in? Is the world trying to tell me something?"
He started to doubt himself.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone