The room entered another phase of silence and it was Kisuke who broke it yet again with his jovial tone, "Well, the last bits were just speculations from my part so take it with a grain of salt~."
However, everyone couldn't be as carefree as him, "Damn you... And here we thought the worst things that could happen were a war among myths and the complete release of Trihexa. Even though it's just a possibility, you just told us a much grimmer future," muttered Azazel in frustration.
"Even though those are just mere speculations, it was backed by some evidence. As much as we don't want that to really happen, we have to prepare for it," added Michael.
"Kisuke-kun, thank you very much for sharing this with us today. If not, we may've been caught off guard by enemies we didn't expect." Sirzechs gave his sincere gratitude.
"Hmmm... Looks like I have to prepare some things on my side too," Odin talked to himself while stroking his beard with a serious expression.
"Rudra may have some idea about this, but it'll be good if there's a concrete plan spanning the whole Alliance to tackle this," Sun Wukong added some thoughts of his own while blowing out smoke.
Azazel then threw his head back as he leaned on his chair, "And it doesn't help that we may lose some of our forces soon!"
'They are losing some of their forces soon?' thought Kisuke as he saw Azazel glance towards his direction for an instant, 'But what does it have to do with me? Does he want me to do something?'
Little did he know, Serafall slowly looked away and tried not to join the conversation.
The other leaders, specifically Barakiel and Michael knew what Azazel was talking about and could only sigh.
Stretching his arms, Azazel jokingly asked, "Hey Kisuke, don't you have something that could strengthen these kids? You know, to counter this threat, they at least have to reach the Heavenly Dragons or Chief Gods levels."
Everyone sighed yet again until Kisuke suddenly took out two small white vials.
Azazel immediately straightened up his back and asked Kisuke with wide eyes, "W-what's that?"
With a clueless expression, Kisuke answered, "Eh? Weren't you asking me if I had something? Here you go."
"No! I wasn't actually expecting you to take out anything! No one in this room was expecting you to! It was very obvious that I'm just joking!" shouted Azazel.
"I was thinking he'd take out something, though?" retorted Serafall.
"Same," added Issei.
"Except you two!" Azazel snarled at them, but he immediately curiously looked towards the vials that Kisuke took out like everyone else. He could instantly tell that the vials have some sealing mechanics that kept its contents hidden, "Anyway, what's that?... And how much is it?"
"Ehem. This will be for free."
As soon as Kisuke said that, however, except for Michael and Gabriel who kept their gentle smiles, everyone else gave him a dirty look. Not that they can be blamed, though. They'd already heard and witnessed his 'business transactions' and the word 'free' was very far from those.
"Ehem..," Feigning a cough yet again, Kisuke ignored their reactions, "Please think of this as my contribution to world peace. Since you'll be doing most of the work, it'll also benefit me indirectly."
But despite giving his reasoning, no one believed him fully.
Still, Azazel couldn't help but ask, "What is that anyway?"
"These two are specifically for Issei and Vali-san."
But before Kisuke could explain any further, Vali interjected, "I don't need it. I don't want anything that boosts my strength artificially. I'll get stronger with my own effort."
"Vali... Don't say that. I don't think Kisuke would give us something that will boost our strength temporarily or hurt our potential for measly gain..." retorted Issei. In fact, he's a bit nervous now as he knew how Kisuke did things and thought, 'I wonder how much it'll hurt this time...'
Kisuke grinned and said, "Issei is right~ Although this is a concoction, it does not aim to boost your strength artificially, but to get you used to your Dragon Aura further, resulting in immense gains~!"
Issei became even more nervous and Serafall slapped her forehead since she already had an idea of what he wanted them to do.
"Quit the sales talk and tell us what it is and how to use it," said Azazel in anticipation.
"Ehem. Well then, allow me to introduce you to my creation. Modified Samael's Blood!"
"Uhmm... The what?" Azazel thought he didn't hear it correctly.
"Modified Samael's Blood."
"Samael's Blood!?" Azazel finally stood up from his seat, "Are you insane!? Are you asking them to take that!? Even a drop of that could potentially kill them!"
Even everyone else was wide-eyed after hearing what was inside those vials. Vali, on the other hand, shook in nervousness. He never thought that this shopkeeper was insane enough for him to give them what is essentially their antithesis, 'H-he won't force it on us, right? We can reject it, right?'
However, instead of Kisuke himself, it was Ajuka who defended him, "Settle down, Azazel. He said it's modified. I don't know how you could modify that thing but let's listen to him first."
"Ah... I'm sorry. I lost my cool there for a bit," Azazel sat back down while sighing. Though it only showed how much he cared for Issei's and Vali's wellbeing.
Without minding Azazel's understandable behavior, Kisuke continued, "To explain, this is Samael's Blood that I took out from both Himejima-san and Irina and modified it for Issei and Vali-san's use. But before I go any further, please allow me to explain how the Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing work."
"For Issei and Vali-san to use their Sacred Gear abilities, they have to give it their Demonic Power or Ki. However, these Dragon abilities can't directly use those energies so instead, Ddraig-san and Albion-san convert those energies to Dragon Aura."
"But with the Heavenly Dragons out of the equation, these Sacred Gears become next to useless. Of course, they can convert it themselves, but that's too complicated and slow that it's not viable in combat."
At this point, Ddraig's voice suddenly resounded, "That's true. If either Albion or I become dormant, it'll be very hard to use the abilities, and Balance Breakers would be next to impossible."
Sirzechs furrowed his brows and asked, "At what point will you become dormant?"
It was Albion who answered, "As time goes on, the battles are becoming harder and harder. If at some point, we need to use anything at our disposal to win, it would be after that that we would need to take some time to sleep and recover."
Clapping his hands, Kisuke gathered everyone's attention again, "With that in mind, I modified Samael's Blood for them. Why Samael's Blood you say? It's because it has the most effective Dragon Slayer properties that would be useful if used correctly."
"Although I said modified, I only changed a few things within it. First is I removed its subproperty to corrupt and devour souls, which in turn, weakened its Dragon Slayer property. However, that's just what I needed, and adjusted a few more things so it'll be suitable for consumption and won't instantly kill the recipient."
"Won't instantly kill the recipient, you say?" interrupted Serafall, "So it'll still slowly kill them."
Hearing that, Issei and Vali shuddered. However, even more cold sweat covered their backs when they heard Kisuke's reply.
"Well, don't mind such a minor detail~."
"Minor!?"
Editors:
28th00: Ah, Issei is going through training PTSD while Vali is having a rapidly increasing nervous breakdown. Seems apt for a Kisuke-brand training method! There’s only a 90% chance of death in most cases! Well, if you give up halfway through that is! You’ll 1000% feel like dying feels nicer than the methods though!
Serafall furrowed her brows and asked Kisuke a serious question, "Why do you always design things that intentionally hurt the user?"
"Uhmm... No pain no gain? Anyway, hear me out first. Depending on how you use it, the chances of you dying is close to zero. I also won't force you two to take it and allow you to decide after hearing out the benefits and risks."
Issei then answered, "We're listening."
"Great," Kisuke nodded and proceeded to explain further, "The main goal and use of this modified blood is to change or evolve your physiology closer to that of a Dragon, which would allow your bodies to directly convert your reserves to Dragon Aura, or even store it for future use."
Issei and Vali's curiosity and interest peaked after hearing that.
"Now, to actually do this, after taking this blood, using your Sacred Gears as the catalyst, you'll have to convert either your Ki or Demonic Power to that of a Dragon's Aura and resist it before it melts your flesh."
Not just Issei and Vali but the majority of the rest swallowed a mouthful of saliva due to Kisuke's graphic description.
But Kisuke didn't mind their reactions and kept going, "Of course, you can directly use your Demonic Power or Ki to resist it, but that would only defeat the purpose. You see, Dragon and Dragon Slayer, despite being complete opposites, have the same origin, similar to the both of you."
"As you resist the blood, your body will slowly adjust to the damage it has taken. Thanks to the blood and your Dragon Aura, your bodies will be forced in a certain direction, but you can think of this as mastering a specific path that is very suitable for you."
"If you take this slowly, you should be able to use Dragon Aura directly and doing it enough will improve the entire base of your abilities."
Vali immediately caught on to Kisuke's words and asked, "If we take it slowly... What would happen if I took it all at once?"
Kisuke grinned and replied, "Simple~ The chances of you dying shoots up exponentially~ As you are now, the chances of you dying if you took it all at the same time would be around 95%~"
"As I am now, huh... So I can prepare myself to mitigate those chances?"
"Absolutely right~!"
"Then what do I get by risking my life like that? As you've said, no pain, no gain, right?"
Kisuke looked straight into his eyes and answered, "According to my calculations, the amount you take in a short period of time increases the speed and quality of the transformation. So I can say that the more you take, the better the result would be. And if you're lucky enough, you might even develop enough to get the same level of resistance to Dragon Slayer properties as Great Red and Ophis themselves."
Vali then started chuckling, "Then I'll take it. Though it'll take some time to prepare."
"Vali... Are you sure?" asked Azazel with a concerned expression.
"Not now, but I'll definitely take it in one go," answered Vali with a small smile.
"Same with me. I'll take it in one go," Issei suddenly added.
"Issei!? No! You don't have to do that!" Rias immediately rejected Issei's decision in fear that something bad may happen to him. Asia, on the other hand, grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and agreed with Rias.
But instead of replying to them, Issei faced Kisuke, "Kisuke, what're my chances of surviving if I take it now?"
"Hmm... In your case, it'll be around a 75% chance of death."
Vali's eyes widened at his answer but Kisuke immediately explained, "The training he's doing is already taking him in that direction so he's not in as much danger as you are."
"But even then!" Rias still tried to convince Issei against it.
"Buchou... No. Rias," Issei held her hand, "Although my chances are better, it doesn't mean that I'll take it now. I'll take it after ample preparation. And if there is any truth in any of Kisuke's speculations, then all the more reason to maximize its effects." He then faced Asia and patted her head, "You too, Asia. You don't have to worry too much. I won't do it until I'm sure I can safely do it. Besides, Azazel won't allow us to continue if he's not sure that we're not safe."
Asia and Rias looked towards Azazel and the Governor of Fallen Angels scratched his head and sighed in frustration, "Dammit... To have this kind of option, you're more Devilish than most Devils out there."
"I just don't want you people to be cornered without any other options left," answered Kisuke.
Azazel stayed silent for a moment before sighing again, "Fine... But the two of you can't take it without me around. I'll try to get the help of the Five Great Dragon Kings to assist your preparations. That way, you'll have more chances."
Sun Wukong tapped the table and said, "You don't have to worry about Yu Long. I'll ask him myself and I think he won't refuse to help."
Azazel nodded his head towards Sun Wukong and gave his gratitude.
Asia raised her hand and added, "I'll also ask Fafnir-san for his help!" Since she entered a contract with the Gigantis Dragon, Fafnir, Asia is the one in control of him.
"Then I'll try asking for Tiamat's help," added Ajuka.
"Since we're getting their help, I'll ask Midgardsormr myself," said Vali.
"As for Vritra, we'll ask Saji Genshiro to convince him," replied Sirzechs.
Azazel smiled and said, "Thanks, everyone. If every one of them could help, then we should be able to significantly reduce the risk for these two idiots."
Seeing that they already came to a decision Kisuke stood up, "Well then, I've already said everything I wanted to say, so I'll be leaving first," He then looked towards the two hosts of the Heavenly Dragons, "I won't be saying anything else beyond this because I don't want your perceptions to be warped any further. Even though I pushed you onto a certain path, it doesn't mean that the possibilities were reduced. It's still up to you two on how you'll improve and evolve further. Just one last thing, you are what you think you are. Remember that and you'll be fine."
But as Kisuke prepared his teleportation magic, Michael stopped him, "Please wait, Kisuke Urahara."
"Hmm? What is it, Michael-sama?"
"From what I heard, you'll be leaving for a long period of time again?"
Kisuke nodded, "Yes. I'll probably leave in a day or two."
"Then before you leave, if it's not much, could you meet with us again?"
"What for?"
Michael smiled wryly while Azazel and Barakiel sighed in resignation, "Well, we're not sure yet, but we'd like to talk about something with you."
Kisuke tried to guess what they wanted to talk about but he didn't have much clues. Although he still agreed as it's not much effort, "Alright. But I won't have much time by then so please keep that in mind."
"Don't worry. It won't take long."
Editors:
28th00: Ah, resistance on the level of Ophis and Great Red? The level where Samael is a “Rotten Snake” instead of the Antichrist of Dragonkind? It’s enough to interfere with some things, but not enough to actually be dangerous. The only reason Ophis was even affected is because she didn’t fight back (Stop letting the idiots do that Ophis!), was blocked by a few hard-counters for spatial warping and the fact that using enough power to break the restraints would’ve popped the dimension like a bubble and killed her friends (Mr. Hat’s friends!), so that wasn’t gonna happen. Phis-chama is a good dragon, and good dragons don’t hurt their friends!
Staz Irvine