After Dio's little 'prank' on Shinji, he and Nobu returned to their room- knowing he wouldn't be a problem the following day. With Shinji out of commission, they were able to head into the Labyrinth and gather the Cypher Key and also the Tangerine that Taiga wanted- something he handed to her on the morning of the sixth day.
Nothing truly eventful happened on the fifth day, it had been a completely peaceful day of travelling through the Labyrinth and picking up all the items they'd left behind in order to leave a trap for Shinji and Rider- nice and peaceful, a worthwhile endeavour.
"So," Nobu spoke over lunch. "Day six- one more day before the war. You said that trap you set up with my muskets damaged Rider's Noble Phantasm?"
"Yep," Dio nodded at her words. "Shinji definitely had to spend all day yesterday fixing it, meaning he couldn't go into the Labyrinth. Today, he'll definitely be in a rush to get the Pirate Treasure he needs for Drake. And once we take that..."
Nobu grinned wickedly. "Then he'll be completely fucked when the time comes for the battle."
He gave a nod of agreement, thinking as he took a bite of his food.
What was he thinking about? Servants that he would summon again once he became the Sovereign of the Moon Cell. Drake was definitely on that list.
Drake suffered due to the fact that Shinji was her Master- he was cowardly, unwilling to take risks, and always telegraphed everything he had planned. He blurted things out without thinking of the consequences and then scrambled to find a way to make up for his mistakes or blamed someone else for them.
He hadn't even planned for Drake's skill that gave her more power the more treasure she had, learning it about it way after the fact. If he'd truly taken time to check all of Drake's abilities, then he would have started loading her with treasure from the first day. And then, by Day 7, Drake would have been strong enough to face a lot of tough opponents... And by the final round of the war? She'd be ready to obliterate Gawain and even Saver.
So, yes, Drake was absolutely on the list of Servants he'd summon once he obtained Sovereignty over the Moon Cell.
He also had others on his shortlist, but he tried not to think that far ahead. Pride came before the fall.
"So, what's the plan to rob the treasure?" Nobu asked.
Dio hummed in thought as he looked at her. "Be honest, do you want to fight Drake today, or would you rather wait until tomorrow for you both to be at full power?"
The Demon Lord remained quiet for a moment.
"Tomorrow," she admitted. "I want to fight her at her best- minus of course, the treasure. I may be a Demon who will do anything to win, but even I have my own pride. I have acknowledged Francis Drake as a worthy adversary- facing her at her best is what I want."
Dio nodded and manifested a holographic keyboard as he began typing. "In that case, I'll just edit the data of Shinji's Treasure to instead being a slip of paper saying, 'not this time.' Save us needing to go into the Arena and means Shinji doesn't get his treasure for Drake."
"Sounds good," she took another bite of food with a hum. "Say, Dio, why do you make food for me?"
"You may be a Heroic Spirit, but you're still a person to me," he told her. "Maybe you aren't the true Nobunaga, the one who entered the cycle of reincarnation. Maybe you're just a fragment- but don't you have your own memories? Your own feelings? What would you call that if not life?"
Nobu chuckled in amusement. "Truly... What an amusing human you are."
He just nodded and finished hacking the arena to make Shinji's efforts useless, before he hacked into existence a piece of paper and a pen, starting to write by hand.
"What are you writing?" She asked curiously.
"My last will and testament."
The Demon Lord stopped dead, rice halfway to her mouth, before she lowered her chopsticks slowly. She looked at him in pure bewilderment, as if trying to process what he'd just said.
"Why?" She finally blurted out.
"I have faith in you," he murmured softly. "I have faith in myself... Our win is frankly guaranteed. But even so, I want to leave something behind- it's something I do whenever I'm going into a war or situation where, even if the chance is small, I may die. To leave something behind with the hopes that, whoever finds it, will find what I've left behind and use it to make their lives just a bit better."
Nobu stared at him, really stared at him. It was like she was seeing something she hadn't expected, but that only interested her even more.
"You're afraid of death?" She asked him.
"Very afraid of death. And that is precisely why I'm leaving this behind- so that, even if I die with regret, perhaps I can leave something behind worthwhile."
Dio had fought through warzones for almost his entire life... And it was precisely because of that fear of death that he kept going, fighting on through pain in order to live- all while fearing death and wanting to live.
Even him fighting in the Grail War- it was all for the sake of living.
Nobunaga stared at him for a moment and then her lips curled into a smile. "Interesting... Now, I'm even more curious on just how far you can go while fearing death and desiring to live."
He ignored her for once as he focused on writing before he finally finished it, signing it with a flourish. He scanned it with his Terminal and wrote code to have it sent to Rin in the event of his death.
With that done, Dio finished his meal and took a seat on the bed as Nobu returned to the couch and began to watch movies once again- though he noticed her eyes flicking back over to him every so often.
[Dio: Tomorrow is the big day.]
[Shadowheart: Big day? Is something happening?]
[Dio: I told you, right? I entered a Death Tournament where loss means death. Tomorrow is the first of seven gruelling battles I'll need to face- if I lose, I'll die. If I win, my opponent dies.]
[Seekvaira: How terrifying... But with your abilities, I cannot see you losing. And yet, why does it weigh so heavily on you?]
[Dio: It doesn't. Even knowing, however, that I'm going to win... It makes me uneasy.]
[Yumeko: Mm... Do you feel guilty, Dio-kun?]
[Dio: Guilty, huh... I suppose... If anything, I do feel guilty... For the fact I don't feel guilty.]
Yes. Dio's guilt over his actions never came from remorse over what he'd done... But for the fact he didn't feel remorse or guilt for the things he'd done. He felt nothing about the people he'd betrayed, the people who called him friend who's throats he'd slit. But he felt guilty for the fact that he felt justified in every action he took- all for the sake of survival.
It was like he'd told Nobu... Order and Chaos were two sides of the same coin. The Buddha and the Demon were also two sides of the same coin, just like him.
[Yumeko: I see~ How interesting... That it seems we're the same kind of person, Dio-kun!]
[Julie: I don't really know much about this kind of stuff but... Ya have to do what ya have to do, Dio. If ya gotta put down someone else in order to live through this tournament... Then ya gotta do it- and we won't feel any less of you for it.]
[Dio: Thank you, Julie. That means a lot.]
Dio felt just a bit lighter thanks to Julie's words. After all, she was the most 'normal' one in the group and that helped reassure him just a bit. Made him feel just a bit more 'normal' about what he was doing.
[Ding!]
[Durandal's Heir has joined the Group Chat!]
[Required Chat Members have been reached - Quest System Unlocked.]
[Quests will be distributed during specific situations. These include but are not limited to:]
[Situations where a Chat Member or their world is in mortal danger.]
[When those with potential to join the chatroom are in mortal danger.]
[When random worlds with potential members are in danger and in need of saving.]
[When travelling to worlds not yet associated with the Chatroom, a random compatible human from that world will join the Chatroom upon completion of the Quest.]
[Reminder - Chat Group Members are incapable of harming one another. Arena Function will be unlocked at 8 Chat Members.]
Dio's eyes lit up. So, that was why the Quest System had yet to do anything- it hadn't yet been unlocked due to a lack of members. Now that they were at six, the Quest function was finally unlocked.
However, Durandal's Heir... Was it possible? They already had Seekvaira in the Chatroom, could multiple people from a single world end up in the Chatroom like this?
[Julie: A newcomer! Welcome~ Welcome~ I know you're probably confused right now, but please refer to the Pinned Chat Announcement for information~]
[Durandal's Heir: Um... Alright, give me a few minutes then...]
[Seekvaira: Durandal's Heir... Hm...]
[Yumeko: Something wrong, Seek-chan?]
[Seekvaira: Just a theory at the moment, no need to worry about it.]
So, Seekvaira suspected something too... How interesting...
[Durandal's Heir: Ah, now I understand... I'm uncomfortable about the fact a Devil is part of the Chatroom, but with so many benefits available? I would be a fool to turn them down; I will endure it. My name is Xenovia Quarta, I am an Exorcist for the Church. I'm currently 16-years-old.]
With Xenovia's introduction, everyone took their time introducing themselves- even Seekvaira- before she changed her display name to match her actual name.
Xenovia also went on to upload quite a few things to the Chat Group such as Holy Sword Wielder, and many other skills she possessed. She, of course, did not upload Excalibur Destruction and Durandal.
[Dio: So, you grew up in the Church? What's it like?]
He was curious, how would Xenovia react? Already she had shown herself incredibly tolerant of Seekvaira, something that she wouldn't display until she'd had a moment to calm down after insulting Asia in the original. Logically, Xenovia should be even more aggressive and yet she seemed calm.
Perhaps it was the Chatroom helping her keep calm and manipulating her? It wouldn't surprise him, given how clearly all kinds of people could join and some of them may not always agree with one another.
[Xenovia: It's perfectly fine. Admittedly, the food is not very good in order to teach us humility and the training we undergo is brutal. Much like any other place in the world, people have an agenda, and you want the protection of someone strong if you want to live a peaceful life or get stronger in peace. However, I believe we all share the same desire- to see the world at peace.]
Dio rubbed his chin... Definitely still dedicated to the Church, however she wasn't denying that it had its issues... It was almost like the Chatroom had turned her into the future version of herself. Or, maybe, this was who Xenovia truly was whenever she didn't need to worship the church in every breath? She did admit that her faith wasn't nearly as strong as Irina's.
Sadly, no quest had popped up either... It seemed those would take a while before they started rolling in, but that was fine. Dio wanted to focus on the upcoming final round anyway.
[Xenovia: So, you're a Buddha? Tell me, how does that work? The whole 'Enlightenment' thing? I've always been rather curious about it, ever since I heard about it- it sounds very similar to the pure mindset we're told Angels Possess.]
His lips curved into an amused smile. Even though it was a simple question, he could practically picture the inquisitive look in Xenovia's eyes as she looked at her screen.
Yes, he had a feeling he was going to enjoy having Xenovia as a member of the Chatroom.
***
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