Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Serena's POV – August 27, 2008, DxD world
I sighed wearily as I reappeared at the mansion after our trip to Orario. Just as I had promised Riveria, we had finally gone to the dungeon to find the Xenos.
Wiene had been born recently, and just like in the canon, Bell had been the first to meet her, so we moved quickly after that. We were discreet enough that no one would notice, including Uranus and Fels. I really had no intention of meeting them; the last thing I wanted was to be interrogated by Uranus.
Riveria had met the Xenos in the past few days along with Fels, so they welcomed her warmly when we came to pick them up and bring them here to the city. Riveria would make sure they got used to the city for a few days; she would visit them to see how they were settling into their new home.
Fortunately, creating homes and modifying them to their liking was the easiest part. Some of them seemed a little overwhelmed by being in what was now a city, free to do as they pleased, but they were taking it in stride.
Furthermore, there was some rather pleasant news. For some reason, while the dungeon monsters didn't actually activate my Reality Marble, the Xenos somehow did. Interestingly, I resisted the urge to seize all the intelligence and mental fortitude I had accumulated from the hundreds of souls I used to create Cia and Aria, and which I still had stored, and create Hemalurgic spikes to create artificial Xenos.
And in fact, I offered them to the xenos themselves. This was met with a somewhat mixed response. Some were excited about the possibility of creating other xenos, others less so, mainly because they barely trusted me, and I didn't blame them, so I simply left them the option and the opportunity to return to the dungeon whenever they wanted to try.
In addition to that, Loki had returned once again to the underworld, and just as we expected, she had become completely enthralled with the Distracted Globe, grabbed two succubi, and wandered all over the place for an entire day.
"Lady Serena!" Dobby exclaimed with a smile as he appeared with a pop.
"Yes, Dobby?" I asked calmly.
"There are visitors at the door! Miss Agares is here!" Dobby announced cheerfully. I stopped myself before I could groan loudly. Of course she was; I'd forgotten that Seekvaira was actually coming to the manor for the 'exchange' of information. I sighed wearily.
A few days ago, the party had ended without any major problems, really. Once everyone had left, I'd gone back home and stayed inside a time bubble, creating and customizing some Pensieves.
Then I returned to meet with the Satans, Michael and Odin. After showing them how it worked, how to maintain it, and how to create the spell to copy and extract memories, I gave it to each of them as a gift.
To my surprise, everyone seemed amazed by the gift, and quite moved and grateful, including Odin. Apparently, the ability to relive memories wasn't something one could do, and something any long-lived race seemed to truly appreciate immensely.
So I showed them how to keep the memories in small jars and the ways to store them properly.
Serafall was the first to begin filling jars with Sona's memories. Sirzechs immediately followed suit and began extracting Rias's memories.
Michael was… more complicated. He'd received the gift like a child at Christmas, even though he didn't know what it was doing. Once I explained it to him, he seemed completely frozen and conflicted, and he pulled out a single memory, dropped it into the Pensieve, then went in alone.
After a few minutes, he emerged with tears streaming down his cheeks. No one needed to ask what, or rather, who, he had seen in his memories. Especially after he declared the Pensieve an artifact of Heaven and vowed to share it with his brothers and sisters.
When everyone had finally calmed down, we finally caught up on the memory of the fight against Kuroka and Bikou, and then I left. I didn't stay to listen to the whole conversation that followed, especially since the problem was settled for me; let the others handle the politics and everything else.
"Guide her to the entrance," I finally told Dobby. He just nodded and disappeared immediately. I sighed wearily as I turned around and walked in the opposite direction from where I'd been walking while he sent a message to GLaDOS.
I arrived just in time to see Seekvaira walk through the main doors with Dobby by her side. She was looking at Dobby with a puzzled expression, as if she were trying to figure out what she was looking at.
"Lady Serena! Dobby brought Miss Seekvaira!" Dobby announced with a smile. I nodded in his direction, and Dobby just jumped before disappearing.
"That was... lively; he's lively." Seekvaira said, and I snorted amusedly.
"Yes, Dobby is." I said playfully. Seekvaira nodded before looking at me and bowing slightly.
"Lady Prince, it's a pleasure to see you again so soon. Thank you for the invitation to your home," Seekvaira said with a nod.
"Welcome, come on, we have a lot to cover," I said playfully. Seekvaira's eyes sparkled, then she removed a small bag she was carrying on her hip.
"The payment." Seekvaira said, holding out the bag toward me. My eyes widened slightly.
"Wow? So soon? I honestly wasn't expecting payment for a few weeks." I said honestly. Seekvaira just smiled.
"We keep some reserves stored for emergencies and for our own use. It wasn't difficult to part with a few pieces, just as you requested. A dozen of the highest quality, about the size of an Evil Piece," Seekvaira said with ease. I raised an eyebrow as I took the bag, then shook it lightly. I didn't need to open it to see what was inside. Just as she'd said, a dozen pieces. My eyes flashed, and I suppressed the urge to run straight to my lab. I simply placed the bag on my hip.
"Thank you. Shall we get going?" I said easily. Seekvaira smiled broadly before bouncing excitedly.
"Oh, I'm really excited!" Seekvaira said happily. "I've barely been able to sleep these past few days. I've been researching and thinking about the chat with Miss GLaDOS and Lord Beelzebub. I've had so many ideas that it's been hard to fall asleep!" Seekvaira said with childlike glee.
"Do you need help sleeping? I'm pretty sure your Rating Game against Diodora is in a couple of days; you really need to be well-rested for your fight," I said curtly. Seekvaira gave me an embarrassed smile. I just shook my head before turning around and starting to walk away. "Come on, let's go to the Enrichment Center," I said casually.
"Enrichment Center?" Seekvaira asked, catching up. I nodded.
"GLaDOS's labs—she named them that," I said easily. Seekvaira nodded as I led her around the rooms. We finally reached an elevator that clashed completely with the mansion's aesthetic. Seekvaira and I stepped inside, and I pressed the button. The elevator began its rapid descent.
"I didn't know you had underground laboratories," Seekvaira said, impressed. I shrugged.
"Nobody knows; it's not that it's... really a secret or anything, but it's rare for a guest to come to the mansion and go down to the Enrichment Center. And as I said, they're mainly for GLaDOS. Her machines take up a lot of space, more than my magic tools, though I must admit I also take up several rooms for my experiments down here, so it's a shared effort." I admitted with amusement. The elevator door opened, and we stepped out.
The sterile white hallways contrasted sharply with the mansion's design above, but they weren't unpleasant. After passing through a couple of empty rooms and corridors, we finally began to reach the occupied rooms. We started seeing machines and equipment everywhere.
"Serena." GLaDOS said as she emerged from the side, her body connected to several thick cables trailing behind her, linking her to the Enrichment Center and all the machines in the facility. "Agares." She finally said, looking at Seekvaira.
"Miss GLaDOS, it's a pleasure to see you again. I hope I'm not bothering you," Seekvaira said, bowing immediately. GLaDOS just looked at me.
"She came for the exchange; you can join us, unless you're too busy." I said, shrugging. GLaDOS looked at me and nodded.
"Nothing too urgent that can't wait," GLaDOS finally said. "Come on, we'll start from the beginning," GLaDOS said proudly as she began to walk like the queen of the place, which, according to her, she was, and I wasn't going to argue with her. "These are the test chambers," GLaDOS said proudly, pointing everything out.
Seekvaira peered curiously into one of the protective glass panels only to see a model Adam running through magical traps and obstacles before being destroyed by a blast of magic.
We went through at least a dozen of those kinds of rooms. All the robots were subjected to some kind of obstacle course before being destroyed, and a replacement falling in and starting all over again.
After that, we continued exploring the various areas of the Enrichment Center, which was enormous. GLaDOS hadn't wasted any time. There were testing chambers for firearms, including technological, magical, and paracausal weapons.
There were also magical melee weapons and technology, such as the Monowire devices installed in some ninja robots. And there were even rooms for more destructive weapons and equally dangerous magic.
Seekvaira was deeply fascinated by everything around her as she asked question after question. GLaDOS seemed perfectly satisfied as she answered each question, and I added a comment here and there.
"This is the Sparrow and Skimmer test chamber," GLaDOS said, pointing to the next section we entered. There, I saw several Sparrow and Skimmer models being driven back and forth by multiple robots controlling each vehicle.
"Wait, single-seat vehicles with antigravity and propulsion systems?!" Seekvaira asked excitedly. "What's their top speed? How much weight can they carry? How difficult are they to build? Can they be customized? Is the antigravity system related to the gravity field generators of the David models?" she asked quickly as she approached the window and peered in with excitement. GLaDOS nodded approvingly.
"Yes, they are single-seater vehicles; their antigravity systems are the same, but where the cyberskeleton's gravity field generators can increase or decrease gravity in specific areas, the Sparrows only alter the local gravity field to compensate for their own weight and some extra, enough to lift nominal loads of 400kg on average, but it could extend up to 750kg."
"And besides the gravity field generators, no, it's not difficult to build; the thrusters placed on them allow the vehicle to have a top speed of 220km/h, and yes, they can be customized," GLaDOS said easily.
"Incredible." Seekvaira murmured, thoroughly fascinated by the Sparrows.
"Hmm, we should improve it. More speed, better maneuverability. Maybe give them Steelmind to increase their speed?" I hummed to GLaDOS. "We should create a track that loops around Pentagram City and have Sparrow races. Lucy loves speed," I said easily, looking at the Sparrows. "Or create huge circuits in dimensions within the dimensional rift; we could create several to rotate through." I hummed as I thought about it.
"Would you build... several race tracks, just for your pawn?" Seekvaira asked, looking at me curiously.
"Of course." I said, as if it were obvious. Besides, Lucy might be a speed freak, but she wasn't the only one. Rebecca would definitely join, Bella possibly, just for the adrenaline rush, and maybe Ravel. Hmmm, I should check with the girls.
"Hmm, it would be easy to improve them magically." GLaDOS said with an easy look, and I nodded.
"Well, although I know you'd prefer to do it without magic, we'll need to put some safeguards in place. If it's going to be an obstacle course, accidents will happen. I don't think anyone will be killed by hitting an obstacle at high speed, but it's better to be safe than sorry." I said easily. GLaDOS nodded.
"I'll take care of it. Now, let's continue," GLaDOS said. "Finally, we have the creation chambers," GLaDOS said as we descended into what was a massive Cauldron. I could see that she had replicated much of the machinery from the Cauldrons in Horizon Zero Dawn and modified it for her convenience, so it was capable of creating machines left and right.
Enormous automated machines created hundreds of robots with an ease that left Seekvaira speechless.
"This is the Cauldron. Here we can create everything we need," GLaDOS said with satisfaction. She then approached a table before a hologram appeared before us, displaying some blueprints. "As you know, my specialty at the moment is cybernetic implants and robots. While all of that can be used to create a giant, pilotable robot, there are many inherent complications in its creation."
"Piloting them would be the main one," GLaDOS said easily. "It would require creating the necessary commands and controls so that a person could control a machine, which, while not impossible... leaves much to be desired."
"The level of reaction and control would be far lower than simply deploying a basic artificial intelligence, as I do with my robots," GLaDOS said without hesitation. Seekvaira grimaced.
"I understand, but an artificial intelligence would never be able to match a person piloting a robot." Seekvaira said fervently; GLaDOS just snorted loudly.
"I seriously doubt it," GLaDOS said, shaking her head. "Even with the highest reaction time, there's still a physical limitation between reacting, moving your body, and being able to use the controls to move the robot—time that's truly valuable in a fight." Seekvaira just frowned.
"I understand; reaction and movement speed play an important role in a fight, but a person with experience can improvise new fighting tactics, push and challenge a robot in ways that an articulated intelligence couldn't replicate," Seekvaira said immediately. GLaDOS just groaned loudly.
"I completely disagree. First, improvising new fighting tactics is mostly just stupid and counterproductive. And even if it's a good idea, speed is still more important. No matter how much experience someone has or how good they are at improvising in a fight, it's useless if the robot is already destroyed," GLaDOS said dryly. Seekvaira wrinkled her nose.
"And couldn't we create something like a mental interface? Streamline the whole process? Link the machine to the human mind so that it can react as quickly as your own body?" Seekvaira asked, and GLaDOS stopped and hummed.
"It would be possible to create a neural interface, although most of the implants I can create don't need a neural connection to function completely, even though I have been able to create some of them."
"But controlling an implant, something attached to your own nerves and requiring little actual interference from a person's brain, is very different. Controlling a giant robot would be very difficult. Either I'd need to cut open the pilot's entire body and place connections all over it and link it to their nerves, or I'd need to open the pilot's head, cut out half their brain, and connect it to a computer," GLaDOS said dryly. Seekvaira grimaced.
"Magically? Isn't there an easier way to control the machine through magic?" Seekvaira asked quickly. My eyes widened slightly as I suddenly remembered something.
"Oh." I said, remaining silent as something fell from the depths of my mind.
"Is everything alright?" Seekvaira asked, confused.
"Unknown Dictator." I said immediately as my eyes opened. GLaDOS looked up before I felt her gaze loom over my mind; I gave her all the information about what I had just thought. GLaDOS's eyes shone with intensity and desire.
"I want it," GLaDOS said immediately.
"Uh... what's going on?" Seekvaira asked cautiously. I shook my head.
"My Peerage and I have a mental link. It formed when Enid, my bishop, declared us her pack as werewolves. In fact, it started with me and then spread to my Evil Pieces as a form of mutation; my magic was transmitted through the Evil Pieces." I explained easily. Seekvaira's eyes widened slightly. "We can easily transmit information or see each other's memories."
"So GLaDOS saw all the information about Unknown Dictator directly from my head," I said, shrugging.
"Okay... that's... I didn't even know it was possible," Seekvaira said, confused. "But... what is Unknown Dictator?" she asked.
"A Longinus." I said honestly; Seekvaira's eyes opened slightly.
"A Longinus? There are 13 Longinus; I can name them easily, and none of them is called Unknown Dictator." Seekvaira said immediately. I nodded.
"Normally, yes, but…" I said, frowning. "You know about the Big G thing, right?" I asked easily.
"That he's dead?" Seekvaira said easily. I nodded.
"Yes, exactly, but putting that aside, the most important thing is what it implies. It's not something the angels mention, and they certainly didn't tell me since they're trying to keep it a secret, but it's... obvious at first glance. They can't control or maintain the Sacred Gear system." I said with a hum.
"Wait, what? But the system works," Seekvaira said immediately.
"It works, barely." I said with a grimace. "The truth is, either God left the system incomplete, or it deteriorated without anyone to control it, but over the last few centuries, there have been more and more glitches within the Sacred Gears."
"One of them is that the Sacred Gears are accumulating power in some way; they are evolving. Strong enough to be considered 'New Longinus', on par with the thirteen that already exist."
"It's... just a theory for now, and I have some ideas about a couple of them, nothing really confirmed, but I'm keeping an eye on them for that reason. While researching it, I came across one in particular: Unknown Dictator."
"It is capable of controlling and manipulating iron, electronic devices, and mechanical equipment, with a range so vast that it should be able to cover an entire city." I explained easily, editing out certain parts and hiding others; I didn't really need to reveal anything else. Seekvaira's eyes widened.
"New Longinus." She murmured in shock before frowning and starting to think. "It makes... sense. Longinus and Balance Breakers, to begin with, are said to be 'glitches' within the Sacred Gear system. If God has been dead as long as the system itself, and if no one was able to fix it, then... yes, it's very likely to have happened."
"There have been subspecies of Sacred Gear that acquire unique characteristics due to their wielders, and this has been happening for millennia. They are stronger and acquire new abilities. Yes… that's not regulated, and if these changes are somehow permanent, and they constantly accumulate as they pass from wielder to wielder, then there will come a moment, let's say, a singularity. They will surpass the limit that separates normal Sacred Gears from Longinus, simply through the accumulation of power."
"I... like, no one else thought of it or noticed? It's... so obvious now that you mention it." Seekvaira asked in shock. I blinked slightly. That... actually made a lot of sense. I frowned slightly. Could an altricial Longinus be created by forcing it to evolve somehow?
I mean, Forbidden Balor View was artificially evolved into Longinus after Valerie placed a portion of the original Balor's consciousness and power within the Grails. So it would be easy to add to or modify them enough to force them to evolve.
I quickly shook off those thoughts; the last thing I should do was start creating Longinus still connected to the Heaven system, with dozens of humans with Longinus all over them.
"As I was saying, Unknown Dictator is strong, strong enough for me to classify it as a possible 'new Longinus,' and Unknown Dictator achieves that simply by having access to current technology from both the supernatural and human worlds."
"What do you think will happen if that Sacred Gear has access to all the technology of the Enrichment Center or Distracted Globe?" I asked seriously, Seekvaira's eyes opening once again.
"Oh... that would be bad," Seekvaira said easily. "Or very incredibly powerful." I snorted dryly.
"Both," I said dryly.
"I want it." GLaDOS repeated, this time with a pout. I rolled my eyes.
"We're not stealing the Sacred Gear," I said dryly. "But it would be good to create a way to counteract its control," I said easily. "And I'll try to contact the wielder of Unknown Dictator and attempt to replicate it," I said with a hum.
"Can you... do that?" Seekvaira asked in shock.
"Oh yes, definitely, maybe not at the level of Longinus, but maybe... it's not necessary. I would also have to change and modify it. I may know its general capabilities, but not its exact and detailed workings."
"It depends on how it works internally. If it has only superficial, absolute control over the electronics, then it would be a complete waste. The Sacred Gear can only send orders, so to speak. Unknown Dictator can create different machines, but I don't know how... precise the wielder needs to be."
"We would need to create something much more specific, something that grants total control of the technology, something capable of accessing all systems and components. Being able to control even the smallest detail manually would be unparalleled."
"We don't need complete control over a city, something smaller, something more controlled. Even if I'm only able to create something 1 to 1, I would be able to create something infinitely close to an incredibly precise, supernatural neural interface."
"If we were to create a robot or a mecha, there would no longer be a need to control it manually, with controls, interpreting screens, lines of code, and everything else manually. There would be a direct mental connection to the mecha so that everything would be much faster and more efficient," I said quickly, completely excited.
""I want it."" GLaDOS and Seekvaira said at the same time, their eyes shining with excitement. However, GLaDOS's eyes shone even more with fervent desire.
"Okay, okay, let's finish this here for now. Then I'll see what I can do. I know where to find the wielder. I don't plan to take the Sacred Gear from him, but I'll have to find a way to study him closely without him noticing," I said easily. They both pouted, but nodded. Then the conversation turned once again to what was in front of us.
My projects kept piling up. I was excited about Unknown Dictator; it would be a really good project. However, I had other things to do first. I could feel the weight of the crystals on my hip. Yes, that was one. But there was also Narcissa; I had to help her with her threads and sewing now that she had the Nui Harime template. We can create some interesting things. Hmm, so many things to do, and all so interesting—much better than playing politics.