Chapter 240 - Mephisto
Chapter 240 - Mephisto
As for the political relationship between Vita City-State and the other kingdoms, it was neutral, to say the least. Many had interests in the City-State as they had sent their Royal family branches there to procreate and grow.
As such, they dared not fall out of grace with them, despite how badly many of them had been fleeced before they could rent land.
Only Sturgehaven Kingdom and a few neighboring Kingdoms had been wise enough to show friendliness to Draco from the onset, so they had been treated rather well.
Draco put the matters of Vita City-State aside, because today he was visited by someone interesting. Draco went to sit on his throne in the Aether Hall, with Riveting Night, Hikari, Roma, and Zaine in their own thrones as they all gazed down on a certain person who was also seated across them.
It was an extremely handsome man who looked to be in his early thirties. He had neatly combed black hair that was coated with a hair gel that made it shine, his dark brown eyes carrying hints of extreme intelligence.
His skin tone was extremely light, almost to the point of being pale and his face was well-structured with thin lips and an average-sized nose. He wore a tight black vest and close-fitting khaki shorts that highlighted his toned body.
However, the fellow had only stared at what lay in the arms of Zaine all this while, not even sparing a glance towards Draco and his posse of beauties.
"What brings you here, Mephisto?" Draco asked as he tapped his throne lightly with a frown.
Mephisto ignored Draco and remained fixated on his grandson who was in the arms of Zaine. His arrogant voice sounded out after some silence.
"Is that my grandson?" He directly asked Zaine.
Zaine smirked and answered his query. "He is the son of Draco and I, yes."
Mephisto's eyebrows furrowed from the way his daughter had answered his question. The very fact that she was still seated over there and not with him made him unhappy deep down.
According to the original plan, she should have snuck away after taking his seed and given birth to the child in the Devil Realm. He had ways to retrieve his still Rank 1 daughter as long as he paid a high price.
Transporting over the two of them would be much harder, but he could still afford to fork over a seriously damaging price to do so. However, from the way she behaved, he had the premonition his daughter wouldn't come willingly.
Mephisto finally turned to Draco and observed him. The current Draco was immensely different from the one he had encountered when the Immortal Adventurers had just arrived fresh into their world.
Still, anything below Rank 7 was just a plaything to Mephisto. As such, he shook his head and spoke to the fellow calmly. "My grandson and my daughter shall be returning with me to the Devil World this instant. Make it so."
The room went silent as everyone was stunned, then they burst into laughter. Mephisto frowned at their reaction to his demand, but if someone were to find out that some mere germs had made him act, he would become a laughing stock.
"Is there a problem?" The Devil King asked lightly.
"Well for one, have you asked your daughter whether she wants to follow you back?" Draco replied with amus.e.m.e.nt.
Mephisto turned to face Zaine and scoffed. "Of course, she would. There is no reason why my daughter would choose to stay with a Rank 1 weakling like you over her family."
Draco also couldn't be bothered to get angry with this fellow whose head was so far up the clouds of arrogance that he could no longer see sense. "Fine. I'm not holding her hostage. If she wants to leave on her own accord, she can do so whenever she wants."
"Zaine, let us leave, we have a limited time-frame to return to our homeworld." Mephisto said imposingly.
Zaine shook her head, an action that made her father frown even harder. "I have no wish to return to the Devil World anytime soon. You can return and rest assured that I'll bring my son to visit the ancestral home to see his family once he is older."
Mephisto was silent for a long time as he looked at Zaine, then Draco, then Zaine again. Then he also burst into laughter as if he had discovered the most amusing joke ever.
"So, you of all people have been enchanted by this bloke? What exactly does he possess that managed to make you submit fully?" Mephisto asked with curiosity.
Zaine was the least promiscuous of his three girls, but the most intelligent as well as the most confident one. Her single vice was her laziness, for which he partially blamed himself for tolerating it.
To make a woman like her submit, Mephisto was unsure if he - during his youth - could do so in such a short amount of time.
Hence, despite his endless arrogance - or maybe because of it - he realized that there was more to Draco than his initial analysis. Not only that, but he could sense an aura from his grandson that made his whole-body shiver, which was why he could not stop looking at the boy.
Zaine turned to Draco and waited for him to speak. Draco understood that to those lofty Rank 7 existences talk was cheap, so he directly released his bloodline aura and gave Mephisto a full blast.
To a normal person, his aura would feel like a cold breeze or might not even do anything to them unless they had any relation to it, but to Mephisto, it was like being hit by a truck.
He was sent flying back a few meters before he crashed down to the ground, his body struggling to rise. This was obviously not his true body but a mere Rank 1 Avatar he had sent over to meet his daughter.
Yet he was still shocked by the intensity of Draco's bloodline. Mephisto was the leader of an entire race, and despite his fatal flaw of arrogance, he still had the qualifications to be a leader.
He understood why Zaine would submit to Draco and why his grandson's aura was so stifling to him. It was because the father of the child himself had even purer devil blood than he, the Devil King, himself!
No, that's not entirely correct, Mephisto realized as his eyes narrowed. Draco's devil blood was not purer than his, because It was mixed with Draconic blood, corrupted angelic blood and even… demon blood!
The reason why he felt it was purer was because it was a stronger variation of the devil blood. His devil blood purity was considerable, but Mephisto's was technically higher.
However, Draco's blood was like an archaic or archetypal form of the devil blood, while Mephisto's was a more modern version that had evolved to suit the current times.
Neither version was better on paper actually. Draco's devil blood boasted insane raw power for the abilities of their race, but had little versatility. The current devil blood had extreme versatility but nowhere near as much power as Draco's blood.
Basically, Draco's blood was like a nuke whereas Mephisto's was like an everchanging weapon. Draco had insane power, but when it erupted, it was hard to control, probably hurting anyone and everyone indiscriminately.
Mephisto's was much weaker, but it was refined, allowing him to use multiple weapons and means to take down targets with extreme precision and in any way he wanted.
This might be why Draco never used the Devil Aspect of his bloodline, which was the General Aspect. He could barely stay in his 'Ultimate Devil' form for more than three split seconds, so that was obvious.
Mephisto's eyes then landed on his grandson and his blood ran cold. So then, what would be the result if the raw nuclear-like power of Draco's devil blood and Mephisto's refined and versatile blood that focused on precision were mixed in one person?
Now, it was clear why Zaine was so crazy over Draco, and why she was sure their child would be a Supreme Devil. She had the best bloodline concentration of Mephisto's daughters because she was one of Crysta's first children, and she made sure to infuse a lot of her Source Origin into her son.
Draco's bloodline made Mephisto feel pain and shock, but that was it, whereas the aura of the child made him experience true instinctual fear, like he was a mortal staring into the eyes of a God.
Suddenly, Mephisto's mind clicked, and his shocked expression lightened up. Every ounce of arrogance left his body as he focused on Draco solemnly.
"Draco, do you understand who and what your son is?" He asked seriously.
Draco was taken aback by Mephisto's change in tone and behavior. However, he still answered the question truthfully.
"Is he not a Supreme Devil?"
After all, that was what Zaine kept saying, so he thought it was a significant or special term in their race. Could it be that it was just an estimation Zaine made based on conjectures?
"Supreme Devil…" Mephisto muttered this and gazed at his daughter before returning his focus to Draco.
"Our race does have the concept of a 'Supreme Devil', but that would be a term best used for you, not your son. Your son is a second-generation who inherited the best aspects of his parents' blood that is already at its best state."
Mephisto shook his head. "Have you heard of Primogenitors?"
Draco nodded. "In terms of racial State of Being, the highest for Dragons is the Primogenitor Dragon. In terms of Tradeskills, there are 10 Grandmasters, 5 Gods, and 1 Primogenitor."
"As such, I hypothesize that a 'Primogenitor' equates to an Origin God level existence."
Draco glanced at Loki, who was silently watching his grandfather, feeling a sense of familiarity by the aura he exuded, before looking back at Mephisto.
"So, my son is an existence at that level in terms of the Devil Race?"
"I believe so. He should have the potential to easily become a True God upon maturity and grow further into an Origin God with a little more effort." Mephisto answered with a slight nod.
Draco became silent and so did his women. At this moment, each of them began to realize how crazy their existence was when paired with Draco. When they mated to bear offspring, these offspring ended up leagues above even they, the parents.
If Draco's bloodline was just one aspect, it wouldn't be a problem. For example, if he was pure Black Dragon, things would have been much simpler.
However, at 99% purity - and being what was essentially Lucifer's perfect clone down to the atoms even - he had harnessed too much raw power in him.
As Lucifer had claimed, the 9 Original Humans had merely been overpowered children with too much power and very little control. This effect had bled down onto Draco and Eva, as well as Local Lord.
So, when Draco implanted his powerful bloodline into a companion with a genetic structure that not only formed a resonance with one of his bloodline's aspects, but could merge together to form something stronger, how could such an offspring be simple?
In most stories and anime Draco had consumed back when he had still been a cowardly loser, he had seen many plots like this, where the main character would have a child stronger than them or be the child of some expert who had met an unfair demise.
However, it was almost always just one parent that was outstanding. Whether it was the father or mother, one of them would have some overpowered heritage or ability that they would pass down, while the other parent would be more normal.
This would form a perfect balance, allowing the child to have great power but still retain the core features of a human, especially in the weak early years.
Even the Lineages were a perfect example of this. However, Draco had gone to gather four women of extremely outstanding origins, talent, and beauty, filling them with his evil seed.
Now that they had sprouted, it turned out that some things didn't just equate a result as simple as 1+1=2. They didn't just add the two effects of each parents' bloodline and got the 'double version'.
Instead, it ended up being an exponential increase, to the point where becoming an a.d.u.l.t assured becoming a True God, and if Mephisto was right, a little effort was all it would take to become an Origin God.
An Origin God!
This wasn't the Xianxia section of Boundless where there was a higher realm with even more experts and better laws/energy etc. Western Fantasy was one fixed universe with a clear ceiling that was extremely hard to reach precisely because it was limited.
Draco or Eva, without their bloodlines, would never be able to become True Gods, much less Origin Gods, even if they were reincarnators with all their knowledge.
This was why in Draco's original plan, he had planned to Reach Rank 7 and head to other worlds to experience them as well as acc.u.mulate power. He had rejected having a Divine Foundation in the former Vita Settlement, as well as chosen a Divine treasure Chest over a Divine Emblem because of this, among other reasons.
However, there was a key factor that Draco had forgotten to account for when he went spurting his DNA into such innocent beauties like the monster he was, which was his bloodline's classification!
In truth, 99% bloodline meant that he should be an Origin God at best, or a Semi-Origin God at worst in his various racial State of Beings. The same went for Eva, who was closing in on 99% currently.
That was why their General Aspect transformation was so powerful that even Little Rila was enamored.
So why wasn't he at that level? It was due to the laws and mechanics of the game! One would be capped at the level just before Divinity, having to cross that final step on their own!
Hikari with two parents at True God or above also faced this problem. She was born at the Supreme Rank, but was never able to enter Divinity despite everything saying that she should.
So, both Rosella and Loki came out swallowing Aetheric Energy like it was water because they were existences higher than Aether (Legendary), probably closing in on Gods (Divine).
Unlike Hikari who was capped at the Supreme Rank even in a.d.u.l.thood, his children would apparently become True Gods with the passage of time even if they ate and slept all their lives.
Truly, this was the power of the second generation! Based on the hardsh.i.p.s of their parents in carving out some wealth, the pampered second generation would grow in the best conditions and never understand hard work or pain.
Draco leaned back in his throne and gathered his scattered thoughts and analysis. "What do you suggest we do for Loki?"
"Loki, huh? A fitting name, as I sense endless mischief from the boy…" Mephisto uttered under his breath. The little boy let out a laughter. Was it because he understood what they said, or simply because he had heard his name?
He raised his head and gazed at Draco. "I don't have any solid ideas, to be frank.
Draco was surprised by this, and even Zaine tilted her head. While she might be headstrong and troublesome, she still respected her father greatly for his power and foresight.
Mephisto saw their expressions and smiled bitterly. "How do you expect a mere housecat to raise a tiger?"
Draco frowned deeply, because Mephisto had a point. In fact, if Mephisto was a housecat, then Draco himself would be like a lynx. A lynx raising a tiger would certainly be…
"So, what do we do then?" Draco asked.
Draco was not so headstrong to pretend he was the world's greatest dad from the onset. Mephisto had a family of sons and daughters who had his pure bloodline, each with different personalities and traits.
Of course, the underlying value was that they were all extreme troublemakers. He would certainly benefit by seeking his (father-in-law?) advice on the matter.
Mephisto thought deeply for a minute, looking and Rosella and then Loki. "Can you furnish me on the details of yourself and your women. If you feel I am untrustworthy, I am willing to sign a contract on the matter."
"No need. Zaine can explain everything." Draco suggested with a shake of his hands. Now that Zaine had given birth to Loki, his relationship with Mephisto was one of family.
Putting aside harming him, it was more likely that Mephisto would do everything in his power to nurture Loki.
The little chap represented the apex of Devils, and a chance for them to get a permanent home on the main plane, as well as a place among the Gods.
Zaine quickly brought Mephisto up to speed on the circ.u.mstances surrounding Draco, Eva, Hikari, and Roma. Once Mephisto heard everything, his whole demeanor changed.
He then nodded heavily. "Draco, your best bet would be to sprout your main world and hide all four of them inside at all times. You must keep all your powerful children away from the world for a long period of time. Until they are mature or preferably until they have control over their powers."
"Listen to me, let their mothers raise them. They are the best choice for the matter, and they will do a better job than you. Crysta raised most of our children as well, and she ensured stability as well as enough attention for each child."
"A miracle mothers are if you ask me…" Mephisto uttered under his breath.
"Your task is to grow in power. No matter how talented you are, you need the power to ensure a peaceful life. The same parties that support you today could betray you tomorrow. This was something I learned the hard way." Mephisto added with a sharp gaze.
"I will go back to our realm and send some of my capable sons over to teach my grandson every aspect of being a Devil as well as how to harness his power. Just because he has unlimited potential doesn't mean he should squander it. We don't want him to end up too much like his mother, do we?"
"This is my suggestion. What do you think?" Mephisto concluded solemnly.
"A sound plan. I have no qualms with your advice whatsoever." Draco assented with a smile.
"A fine and decisive man. Truly someone who will reach the pinnacle." Mephisto praised with respect.
Zaine smiled and even Loki laughed when they felt the mood lighten up. Soon, Mephisto left after discussing some plans with Draco and leaving a ring behind, which would allow Draco to contact him directly, but the fellow stayed on his throne.
Once again, the room felt heavy as a new entity entered the area, but this person was on a level far above Mephisto.
The Gods' Envoy was here!