Chapter 3: Feeding Frenzy
(Some of the Cadre I am using are from the DC version of Grigori as many unnamed Cadre were confirmed killed in DxD so I am using the names for this.)
Currently, Drake was watching as Azazel was getting armored up from the corner. He was just sitting down as he watched the process and the women doing it. Azazel had 10 very sexy women placing his armor on him. From what he had overheard, the armor was made of Infused Adamantium, which was a nightmare to make.
Considering how mana-resistant Adamantium was, infusing it with mana was a nightmare that only Grandmaster Blacksmith could accomplish. But if done correctly, would make the metal many times stronger, and would defend the user from foreign mana while allowing their own to flow faster.
So, a treasure that only Azazel, Shemhazai, Baraqiel, and Armaros had. It took a lot of raw Adamantium ore to make the Infused version so the new mine they got was a godsend if they could armor their elites like this.
Drake walked over and picked up the front half of the chest plate in his hands as he had possible thumbs. The chest plate was super light, so he stood on his back legs and actually placed it on Azazel's chest for him. That made Azazel look down at Drake.
"You want to help?"
Drake stuck his tongue out and nodded. He showed his open mouth to show he wanted food in exchange making Azazel chuckle.
"Fine."
He pulled out a Mana Crystal and tossed it over which Drake instantly caught and crunched on. When he swallowed it, just like before his body absorbed the pure mana and used that energy to fuel his rapid growth.
Watching this, the women became a bit nervous as Drake now reached Azazel's neck. Meaning he was around the size of a bear and many times heavier. Each of his spikes, scales, carapace, and even his horns were beginning to contain mana making them far stronger.
That was not all as the changes happening as the ones happening inside his body were far more extreme. His body contained several elemental abilities from his Alatreon genome and even the Godzilla genome. As such he was elementally unstable, but mana was actually acting as a neutral element to bring them all into balance.
And his body was becoming much stronger as the mana began to balance out his spliced genes. When he was done, his eyes began to glow with all his elemental affinities as they were becoming balanced.
When he was done growing, he helped Azazel put on the back piece while the women tied the straps and rivets to hold it together. Once Azazel was fully armored, he grabbed a large two-handed spear and placed it on his shoulder.
"Thank you, ladies, come Helbrecht. We leave soon."
Azazel opened up a teleport circle under their feet and teleported them outside to meet up with Espheres, and Ezekeel along with their legions of Fallen Angels. Each Fallen Angel Cadre had around 30 Legions under their command at the start of the war with 30,000 per Legion.
As for Azazel, as a former Seraph, he had 60 Legions, but the war had been constant. Now, Espheres, and Ezekeel only had around 20 Legions meaning they had each lost 300,000 Fallen Angels in The Great War.
The war had taken its toll and it was obvious how tired both Espheres and Ezekiel were. They had scars all over their bodies from the many battles they had endured which made Azazel's heart hurt. Seeing his friends like this was painful, and he had already lost several friends. Azazel steeled his mind as he and Drake appeared.
He boosted his voice with mana and addressed the gathered army of both.
"This war has been exhausting and neither side is close to victory, but we are now going to relieve Penemune, and Armaros at a giant Mana Crystal Deposit. We all know how valuable such a resource is, but we also need to hurry and reinforce Baraqiel at the new Adamantium mine.
We can't afford to lose either, and attacks at both are more than guaranteed at any moment. Once we arrive at the mine, we will hold off any attack to give us time to excavate it. CLEAR!"
"CLEAR!"
The booming voices of well over a million Fallen Angels made even Drake excited. He roared to the sky as a battle cry which made Azazel grin. He grabbed his spear and held it to the sky.
"Prepare the Teleportation Array."
To teleport such a large army was extremely mana expensive, so the whole army contributed in a trained way. Bellow them a massive green teleport formation appeared under their feet.
Espheres, Ezekeel, and Azazel were the ones in charge of the formation so once it had been completed, in sync they activated it teleporting them all away from the hidden base of Grigori to the location of the Deposit.
When they arrived at the deposit, they appeared outside of a Titanic fortress. The fortress was constructed on top of the deposit to make sure it was protected and a good position for some of Penemune's and Armaros' Legions who were stationed here.
When they appeared in the open ground, the gate began to open as they only managed to teleport this close to the fortress as they had the proper mana signature. Devils and Angels could not do so without being attacked by the Siege Formation placed around the Fortress.
Azazel yelled to the Legions to advance.
"Advance."
Drake walked next to Azazel who walked at the very front of the Legions. As for Espheres, and Ezekeel, they walked directly behind Azazel and Drake as they all entered the fortress that looked like it was made by giants.
Inside, they were met by Penemune, and Armaros who had left right after the meeting. They both saluted to Azazel who spoke to them.
"Any sign of an attack?"
Penemune nodded.
"Yes. Around 1,000 miles out, we spotted a gathering force of the Leraje, Eligos, and Botis clans. A huge force so it is a good thing you all are here."
Hearing that made Azazel smile. Noticing that made Drake tilt his head.
'Does he have spies inside the clans?'
He then remembered that the Devil clans were super prideful about blood purity. A branch family or a particular bastard that was treated badly could betray the clan for benefits that were not given to them by their own clan.
But while Azazel stepped to the side, Espheres, and Ezekeel continued to lead their forces inside. But when they entered the fortress Drake perked up and began to sniff the ground. He walked around as Azazel watched him before he began to claw at the rock.
Azazel walked over and tapped him on the back.
"Don't open a hole here, I will set you loose in the deposit soon."
Hearing that made Penemune nervous. They had seen how ravenous Drake was. If they set him loose in the deposit, he could strip it bare.
"Azazel, is that a smart idea? He could devour the entire deposit leaving us with nothing."
Azazel looked at Drake who sat down in front of him. Already he could stare Azazel in the eyes without even standing up showing how big he was now.
"She doesn't trust you buddy. What do you have to say about that?"
Drake stood on his back legs like a bear and placed his hand over his spiky chest. Then he held it up like he was saying that on his heart he promised. Seeing that made her sigh as she ran a hand down her purple hair.
"I am sorry for doubting you, but aren't you too smart?"
Azazel shook his head.
"He is a dragon, and dragons are sentient beings. He is just so young that he has yet to learn to talk. Give him some time and he will figure it out. For now, I will take him. Come."
Azazel walked off deeper into the fortress with Drake at his side. While they walked, Drake saw that everywhere they went there were soldiers stationed everywhere. Different siege weapons were at the walls, but as they walked Azazel spoke to Drake.
"It would be easier to teleport there, but we can't. Even I can't break the rules so we can only walk there."
As they walked Drake spoke. His voice was deep, coarse, and sounded like a monster trying to talk.
"Slow."
Hearing Drake talk made Azazel smile.
"Yeah, it can be."
Drake did not speak anymore as he was too busy checking out the fortress. He had no idea what it was made of or how long it took to build it. But the deeper they entered, the more gates they had to pass, and more security.
Eventually after what seemed like an hour they arrived at what looked like a giant conveyer belt. On it was a bunch of raw Mana Crystals that needed to be refined. Seeing that made Drake open his eyes wide with hunger.
But unlike what Azazel expected, he held himself back. He looked at Azazel and spoke.
"Eat?"
Azazel shook his head.
"Not these, these are the lowest quality which are mass produced. I will be setting you free deep in the deposit. Let me explain how these Mana Crystal Deposits form. They form above what we call Mana Veins, where condensed Mana flows.
The mana is so thick it can turn liquid, and it eventually breeches the surface. The liquid mana fuses into the earth and over a long period of time turns solid. And over an extremely long period of time, forms a deposit.
We treat it like a garden and only take what we need to make sure it is not damaged. Once we feel the Deposit is running out, we leave it alone and place a Time Formation over it to speed up times several times over. This way we speed up the time the Deposit takes to refill.
And this deposit is a huge one so we are currently in the plentiful cycle. I am taking you to where the Mana Vein produces the purest Crystals. We need those, but I think you are worth it. Promise you won't strip it bare at least."
Drake turned to Azazel and looked him in the eyes.
"Promise."
Azazel smiled as he led him into the Deposit. As they walked through, mana crystals grew out of the mine as Fallen Angels used spells to extract them from the wall. But Drake ignored those as he followed Azazel underground.
The scent of the Crystals wanted to push him into a frenzy, but he controlled himself. They continued to descend until they had walked several miles underground. When they arrived here, Drake's eyes saw giant white glowing crystals that looked less like crystals and more like metal.
"Welcome to the heart of the deposit. These Mana 'Crystals' are so pure they can be used to create Infused metals. Much like my armor, but Adamantium takes so much it of rae Adamantium to even make a single ingot of Infused Adamantium and even more of these pure crystals.
But it is worth it in the end. And considering you are now growing Adamantium-infused metal spikes, I think you can actually grow Infused Adamantium. Considering you break off your wing spikes, we can collect that in exchange we give you Mana Crystals. Fair."
"Fair."
Just as Azazel said, he was growing Metal that was very similar to Adamantium after he had been given a sample. And considering his body was becoming infused with Mana, he could in theory grow Infused Adamantium that could be collected.
And just like a regular Nergingante, he constantly pruned off his wing spikes which were unneeded except in battle. Seeing that made Azazel smirk.
"Well, have it."
The moment he got permission, Drake let go of his inhibitions. He rushed to a wall where a big gathering of these Mana Crystals was placed. He ripped out chunks with his teeth and devoured them which caused pure Mana to begin to fuel his growth.
Unlike monsters in Monster Hunter or Godzilla who ran on Bioenergy and radiation. He had something better to fuel his power, Mana. And just as Azazel expected, he began to grow rapidly.
He extracted Mana Crystals from the walls, and with each mouthful he just grew bigger and stronger. But just like Azazel said, he did not strip the deposit bare. He took what he needed and deep in his heart a massive change was going.
In his heart, his Dragon, Fire, Ice, Lightning, Water, and Radiation, were all coming into Balance with mana as the catalyst. A surge of power began to flow through his body which Azazel actually began to feel through their pact.
Azazel smiled as he watched Drake grow into a monstrous beast. As for Drake, he swore to pay back this debt that Azazel gave him. And he would do so through the upcoming battle by slaughtering them all.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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