The finished Devourer armor was a thing of beauty.
I started with a bottom layer — a Vibranium–Adamantium bodysuit — then added a form-fitting leather shell layered with Twilight Vibranium and Adamantium plates infused with Devourer blood, muscle tissue, and bone. When I was done, every inch of me below the neck was protected.
I infused the Enhancement Array into the armor, then finished by adding a single drop of Rin's blood.
The end result: a red-and-black, pulsing light armor that I named Sentinel II.
Sentinel II
Forged from the remains of an adult Gamma Devourer, Vibranium, Adamantium, angelic and demonic energy, and the blood of a Cambion, it stood as one of the Forgemaster Dante's greatest creations.
It was impervious to all but the most catastrophic physical or magical attacks and granted a substantial physical and mystical boost drawn from the base materials themselves.
Abilities
Devourer's Physique
Grants the baseline physicality of a Juvenile Devourer.
+300 to all physical stats.
Evolving Armor
Adapts and evolves based on damage sustained and energy absorbed. Manifest new abilities and enhance existing ones over time.
Energy Absorption
Partially absorbs all physical and energy-based attacks that impact the armor.
Current absorption rate: 70%.
Regeneration
Accelerates recovery of anything connected to the armor using absorbed energy.
Energy Well
Converts and stores absorbed energy as both Demonic and Angelic Energy, ready to be released as attacks or fuel the armor's evolution.
Reservoir: 50,000 AE / 50,000 DE.
Excited by the results, I made a mental note to infuse all my weapons with Devourer tissue and blood. But first, I went back to the drawing board and started layering Ancient Runic enchantments.
Runic Arrays
Ancient Aegis of Protection — Generates a skin-tight barrier of dense telekinetic energy layered with Density, Energy Absorption, and Gravity runes. Provides robust protection against most forms of energy and physical attack.
Protection Rating: 20,000 DEF — Cost: 2,000 per hit.
Breathing and Temperature Control — Generates a micro-circulatory field of breathable air and automatically regulates internal temperature. Best paired with a helmet.
Cost: 5 AE per hour.
Ancient Amplification Rune — Supercharges a technique, skill, or energy expression by 100%.
Cost: 20 DE or AE.
Ancient Precision Rune — Doubles the penetrating power of a chosen attack.
Cost: 20 DE or AE.
Weight Alteration Rune — Manipulates the relative mass of the armor and wearer through Density and Gravity manipulation.
Cost: 100 DE per minute.
Ancient Nether Fire Rune Array
Harnesses Fire, Density, Wind, and Telekinetic runes to produce an arsenal of fire-based magic.
Fire Ray: Propels a thick bar of Nether Fire.
Salamander: Expands a destructive wave of Nether Fire outward.
Fireball: Launches a super-compressed orb of Nether Fire.
Flame Pillar: Erupts a vertical column of fire up to 25 feet; range grows with Fire Affinity.
Supernova: Detonates a spherical blast of fire energy in all directions.
Flaming Strike: Channels Nether Fire through limbs or melee weapons during attacks.
Fire Step: Accelerates movement with a burst of flame.
The Fire Array was the easiest to complete. Then came Wind, Mind, Gravity, Density, and Space — each with offensive, defensive, and utility sub-arrays.
My focus turned to hard-countering Belasco, Lauren, Corvus, and other potential enemies I might face, and investing in resistance Runes seemed like a fool's errand.
I had Cosmic Promethean body for that, and I couldn't anticipate every form of magic or energy I'll be hit with.
So, I pivoted – instead of creating weapons that are infused with Devourer Tissue and Rin's blood.
I began with a tower shield, packing it with five Ancient Durability runes and six Energy Storage runes. I added three Energy Conversion, two Stabilization, and three Energy Transference runes — turning it into a secondary battery that could deepen reserves with help from the Infinity Stones.
I dubbed it Wall, for obvious reasons. It carried the same signature traits as Sentinel II — Energy Absorption, Energy Well, Regeneration, and Evolving Weapon.
The rest of my arsenal received the same treatment — upgrades long overdue.
Severance, Kurogiri, Knight Killer, Invictus, even Ebony and Ivory. They were fitted with interchangeable magazines housing offensive arrays built from runes outside of my affinity range.
Then, doubling down, I designed a rifle with the same approach, but paired a few Amplification and Precision runes, and added no devourer infusion. That luxury was reserved for a select few weapons intended for my inner circle.
Before wrapping up my craftathon, I finished two more weapons I wanted hands-on experience with before heading into space: a kusarigama with a density-shifting ball end, and a twin spear.
Finally, I wove in a self-destruct enchantment, powered by Anathema Fire, Gravity, and Density runes. Somebody was bound to try stealing one of my weapons someday — this rune would make sure they didn't live long enough to regret it.
When the dust settled, I teleported Tony to compare notes. I brought my list of runic enchantments — trimmed, obviously, of anything too dangerous to share. His reaction didn't disappoint.
He stared, wide-eyed.
"I'm almost afraid to test them out," he admitted.
"Well, I brought prototypes," I said, pulling a black-and-red runic vambrace from storage. "Let's start with Fire — and branch out."
Lauren's POV
I bit into a slab of offal demon meat and chased it down with a sip of blood wine.
"You know," I mused, "demon cuisine isn't half-bad if you give it a chance."
"I submit to your superior taste," Kaecilius muttered, grimacing. "How much longer do we have to stay down here?"
"This lovely restaurant, or the entire capital?" I asked, carving another piece of meat.
"You know what I mean," he said, voice tight. "This whole realm. It's poison."
His disgust was understandable — irrelevant, but understandable.
We were seated in one of the most prestigious restaurants in the demon world, reserved for outworlders, fleshmongers, and demon nobility. Cambions used to fit in that category, before the purge — before Dante's victory over them.
The peasantry adored him for it. The nobility? Less so. Some saw it as the spark of a war with the surface. Others quietly approved, though none dared to act. They couldn't. Corvus and Belasco could crush dissent with a thought.
But that wasn't the case anymore. The older clans — the ancient bloodlines — were stirring again, emboldened by Belasco's losses. They smelled blood in the water.
I'd been making sure they bled just enough to keep them from ruining my plans. Their souls had kept me in the black while I made sweeping purchases for me and my new teams.
"I still don't understand why we have to come here," Kaecilius pressed. "There are factions with armies three times this size. You could pick anyone in the galaxy."
"None of them can produce sentient bioweapons capable of leveling continents," I said, patient as a teacher correcting a child. "If we get the genetic cocktail right, we can rewrite the definition of power. You, of all people, should understand that — you brokered deals with alien cannibals and the high-evolutionary."
He glared. "I think trusting them is a mistake. They'll stab us in the back the first chance they get."
I smiled. There was an 'us' now. Adorable. A month trapped together, hopping from world to world, and he'd started to pretend we were even remotely on the same side.
"I'd be offended if they didn't," I said lightly. "I'm sure they'll fall in line after a few mutilations."
He swallowed hard, nodded, and conjured a portal with a snap of his finger. Flexing his new toy — Instant Casting. A rare-tier skill, but a valuable one. I almost respected him for finding it.
"I'll be one message away," he said.
"I won't need you," I replied.
He gave me a brief, unreadable look, then stepped through.
I took another sip of my wine and finished my meal while demons, Kree, and Terrans wandered past — none of them noticing me. That was the beauty of Absolute Invisibility, a new Epic-ranked skill I'd honed to Adept tier through countless clones.
No one could see me unless I wished it.
I closed my eyes, triggered Duplicate. Three clones materialized around me from an implosion of mana and biomass, wearing the same outfit I was. They pulled a blade from their waist sheaths and gave me a reassuring look.
They stood guard while I dove into Hive Mind.
Read up to Chapter 223 on Patreon.com/artandcreativewriting.