DxD Chapter 81: Metamorphosis (Patreon)

~Takumi Katsuragi~

As my mind retreated away from the Boosted Gear I heaved a sigh of relief.

That was... liberating.

I felt really light, a smile wormed its way to my lips, no more nagging noises, no more extreme mood swings, no more amplified negative emotions. Just... me.

Again I peeked to see a giant mass of mana that was just sitting there, right the remnants I eliminated left behind the mana that made them. That mana was going to be very useful during my metamorphosis process.

Speaking of my metamorphosis, I was ready, completely and utterly. But just before I did so, let me just fulfil the promise I made with Elsha, I extended my mana down to the core of the Boosted Gear and strengthened the link I had with Elsha while creating a mind magic program that would exclude her from the changes that would occur to my body.

I double, triple-checked everything before finally addressing Arc standing next to the vat filled with the cultivation liquid that cost more than the cost of building the entire Kuoh Town.

"Arc, I'm ready, are you?" The homunculi nodded with certain confidence.

"Yes, I have ran thousands of calculations, there shouldn't be any physical problems with the procedure. Of course, I cannot assure that problems of the metaphysical sort won't occur, but I will trust your ability to handle it, anytime you want to start the procedure I will administer the shot." Arc said, holding up a syringe filled with green liquid, that was the drug that would make me unconscious regardless of whether I raised my mana or not, no matter what happened in my body this thing would keep me down for 8 hours, it was quite hard to make.

I extended my arm toward him with a smirk, I was the Dragon, I would make it through just fine.

"Light me up doc." Arc nodded and plunged the needle into my arm. As my vision faded I heard one last.

"I wish you good luck."

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Darkness. It was darkness, I noticed it immediately, this was not simple unconsciousness. This was my insides, my mind had retreated into the insides of my body with the shot.

No. It was dragged here, this was the path I should take. The way. Iter.

The ground I was standing on looked like a worn boulder in the middle of a chaotic black sea, were multiple points of interest around.

First was a 2-meter tall doll, completely amorphous, like it was made of glass, but its form was indistinct, like it was a living Kaleidoscope, being in so many places yet nowhere at once. I could tell, this was the Divergent Avatar. At least its representation.

Then, it was a floating Green Orb, fancier than any jewel I had ever seen, perfectly round and emanating an aura of dominance and power. The core of the Boosted Gear.

I could see lights glittering in the sky, chaotic, I felt the world around me rumbling it was being torn down and being rebuilt, whatever this place was, it wouldn't last long, the foundation of this place was small, it was already struggling with just me, the boosted gear, and the divergent avatar inside of it.

I looked at the arms of my current form, there were thousands of golden lines running along my entire form, forming a complex network of circuits like a finely tuned system. It thrummed as if breathing, I could feel it, calculation after calculation, the Iter Melius. I felt what it wanted me to do, what it was guiding me toward. And I intended to do it from the start.

Reaching out I grasped the core of the Boosted Gear, I felt Iter Melius interface with the core before a simple prompt appeared.

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Fuse Iter Melius and the Boosted Gear?

WARNING: This decision is irreversible.

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I nodded yes, I would be completely integrating both into my soul.

A new beginning.

The green core split apart and I felt a flood of power surge through my soul before the golden circuits interfaced with the shattered remnants and the entire space crumbled.

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Initiating Metamorphosis...

Automating procedure with Iter Melius to achieve optimal results...

Reconstructing soul with new parameters...

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And then it went blank again. Like suddenly falling asleep.

✧—•✦•—✧—•✦•—✧—•✦•—✧

I opened my eyes again, like waking up from a quick nap, I felt different, naked, I didn't feel the power inside of me but... around me? The world around me was neither the dark void nor the vat but instead a world, it was more akin to a fantastical painting than anything the earth has ever been.

I craned my neck up.

The skies, I could see clouds covering the aquamarine sky, but they weren't really proper clouds, no it was like they were crafted out of gold, like pieces of heaven that have been carved away and placed into my little corner of the world. I could see yellow, pale lightning dancing around the clouds, the scale of it was incomparable to any natural lightning I produced with my catalysts.

The Heavenly Thunder, the power of a once Archangel.

I looked beyond the clouds to see the sun, shining a bright orange like magma bathed in red like hellfire. Heat so hot it if were not so high in the sky the ground beneath my feet would have been razed. A fire of heat also embodied life, boundless life, giving life and nourishment to everything under its gaze.

The Immortality of Phenex, vitality so potent it would never wither.

Then I turned my gaze to the seas, vast, on the horizon I saw a wall of Ice, towering over even the tallest peaks of mountains, inconquerable, frozen in time, nothing could shake it. Ice like this wasn't just frozen water, it was Freeze itself, it was not frozen water, this was what ice represented.

The Sitri Blood, ice so potent it can freeze over even Hell itself.

And then the ground beneath me, the earth that held up the sky, the heavens and the seas. They were formed everything else that made me.

The earth was my body, the trees were my vitality, the winds were my agility, the mountains were my endurance, the ground was my strength, the stars in the sky were my mana and the moon was my magical power.

This world was me. It was the manifestation of my everything, this was the metaphysical representation of what the inside of my body would look like. I had to say, Iter Melius did one hell of a job with this, going from scattered emptiness with everything everywhere to an entire world inside of my own soul.

With a simple thought, the clouds stirred, lightning danced, the trees swayed. This entire world was under my control. I felt my instincts lead to where I wanted to go, a road paved itself under my feet as I walked, what I reached was a grand mansion, the mansion was my mind, where my psyche lived, thus a house was its form.

I entered inside casually and looked around, it was like a fusion of both of my mansions, the walls had paintings as I walked and I couldn't help but cringe as I looked over them. They were all picture-perfect, it was just...

It was all just... the first portrait was of Akeno's panties, then Asia's, then my first blowjob from Akeno, then me having sex with Raynare, then me having sex with Mittelt, then me having sex with Rias...

...I can't even raise a single complaint, this was my mind, this was what my mind thought I should frame in the paintings.

Too far gone, I was too far gone, this world had already sunk its fangs into my supple flesh. And I couldn't even blame it, I didn't even offer a customary resistance.

I shook my head and continued on, I reached a library to see the inside of it was way bigger than it should be, the room was quadruple the size of the mansion itself, bookshelf upon bookshelf loomed like wooden monoliths, each book inside containing a piece of information in my mind.

...I wonder if that is what the Library of Heaven actually is.

After observing the library I went around the rest of the mansion, it had about what I expected, it seemed like everything I had stored inside the Boosted Gear had ended up here too. The storage was filled with weird shit and an ungodly amount of potions and artefacts.

Then I reached the top, the highest point, a balcony that looked my entire realm over. I put my hands on the railings and took a deep breath.

____________________________

Update progress 97%...

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I watched the progress tick up. Excitement bubbled up in my heart, what would Iter Melius show me this time?

Iter Melius, meaning, A Better Way.

I want to see what it shows me this time.

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Update Complete!

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I felt my body get lighter, something had changed. I couldn't perceive what had changed but I understood that it had.

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Iter Melius has met all requirements.

Iter Melius has evolved into...

[Iter Deus]

Rank: Longinus

"The journey to true godhood begins with a single step. Spread your wings"

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With that, I felt my consciousness get pulled out of the mental world.

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~3rd Person~

A moment, a split second, the entire sky over Kuoh had changed colour, a pulse of pure magical power so great that it rippled the skies before it turned to normal, normal people might have missed it with a blink but every supernatural around felt it down to their bones.

Takumi got out of the vat, his body thrummed with power, he could feel every vein in his power carrying unadulterated magic inside of it, fire, ice and lightning danced in his lungs.

He clenched his fist and a small shockwave was created, he opened his palm to reveal pale lightning surging, no calculations, no matrixes, then fire, then ice. His shoulders slumped in relief.

This was what power felt like.

'Feels good to be a dragon.'

He left the laboratory with excitement carrying his every step, his body felt light, and the moment he arrived in the garden he bent his knees.

Woosh!

A pair of gigantic wings erupted from his back. A pair of Draconic Wings over 5 meters in span, they looked to be crafted from pure golden light, with one flap of his wings Takumi bounded to the skies, breaking the clouds and looking down on Kuoh.

He marvelled at the feeling in his body.

"So this is what the realm of the gods feels like."

He had finally breached the Ultimate Rank.

But what to call the new culmination of his body? He wasn't exactly a traditional dragon, he was a mix of what the Biblical Pantheon was and the Dragon form was achieved through the system of heaven.

'Oh, the irony.'

Takumi couldn't help himself. It was pretentious, true. But it felt true.

He affirmed his identity.

"I am..."

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Status:

Name: Takumi Y. Goch

Race: Heavenly Dragon

Statistics:

...

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A/N: Finally, true to the name, Takumi has finally become a dragon, and as Iter Deus said, has taken the first step to ascension. He is no longer just a small fry, this is the big leagues now. This is where the journey to ascension starts.

Also, clarification, just because his race shows Heavenly Dragon doesn't mean he is as strong as Ddraig, nowhere near that, but he is a dragon formed by heaven and the son of the Heavenly Dragon, any other race name would be an insult. Takumi's full status will be shown next chapter. What did you guys think about Takumi's metamorphosis and soul world? Did it live up to your expectations after being teased for so long? I hope so, be sure to let me know.