BXBX NOVEL Chapter 19 - The Fool.
The sun went down completely, which announced the arrival of the night, as it brought with it calm and tranquility.
The wind was blowing slightly as it carried some tree leaves and made a whistling sound as it passed.
Leo was standing in the middle of the forest calmly as he was looking at the red gauntlet on his left arm.
If anyone was here, he\'ll think that Leo is a madman talking to his gauntlet as he isn\'t wrong, but Leo was talking to a dragon that didn\'t respond for 2 minutes.
"Are you there?" Leo waved his left arm as he was calling Ddraig that didn\'t respond for 2 minutes.
"What did you just say?" the green orb that was dark for 2 minutes, glowed again as Ddraig recovered from the confusion.
Ddraig can swear in his whole life as a Dragon and in the Longinus. He never saw a host or a human that called him like this from the first meeting. And what made Ddraig almost hit his head in the Longinus wall is the fact that this human isn\'t lying.
As a dragon and one of the strongest, Ddraig able to sense lies and tricks in other people\'s words instantly, and his long experience in his life also allows him to see through such lies easily. This made him realized that his second host in this period that named Leo is telling the truth.
Ddraig is able to see this human named Leo knows him very well, but he still called him with that name. This made Ddraig confused for more than 2 minutes.
"What did you... Just called me?" Ddraig still has hope inside of him that he heard it wrong, but Leo\'s next words broke that hope mercilessly.
"Breast Dragon Emperor?" Leo answered naturally as the green orb on the Boosted Gear went dim again.
After a few minutes of waiting, the orb glowed again as Ddraig said " Why did you call me like that?"
"Why did you call me a fool?" Leo replied with a question as he watched the glowing orb.
"Hm? Because you are a fool, you fool" Ddraig replied normally, as Leo eyebrow started to twitch from anger. But strangely, Leo was able to feel that Ddraig has a different meaning in his words.
"..." Leo stared at the Boosted Gear for a while before he said " You don\'t seem to be bothered by this situation"
Leo was slightly surprised after he was the calm Ddraig. He thought they\'ll have a long conversation or even Ddraig being angry, but none of that happen.
"This situation? Well, it isn\'t the first time this happens anyway" Ddraig didn\'t seem to care about Leo taking his from his previous host because this isn\'t the first time someone tries to mess with his hosts before they grew up.
Longinus users were always a golden egg in the eyes of different forces and a threat if they weren\'t able to control them. Ddraig can remember some of his previous hosts getting killed before he even awakens, or getting caught to try experiments on a few of them to study Longinus. But this is the first time he sees a Longinus user use his Longinus to take another Longinus, which is quite impressive.
"He was the Red Dragon Emperor from the moment he got me even if he didn\'t know it, and if he lost his power because of his weakness, then it was his fault" Ddraig as a dragon has pride in his power and the host who has him share that power with his title, which is the reason that his previous host should blame himself. And about the fact he didn\'t have power at first? As a dragon, those are just excuses.
"And I have to say it isn\'t bad for me to see different worlds even inside this Longinus" Ddraig seemed to be interested in different worlds, as Leo nodded because that seemed to be quite reasonable.
But Ddraig didn\'t say that this new host isn\'t bad, was also one of his reasons. The previous host was a normal human below-average power, but his personality wasn\'t bad except his excessive lust. And this new host named Leo has a bad personality, but he isn\'t bad from the inside and his will is strong while his power and potential with having two Longinus is very huge, which increases the chances of defeating his rival Albion. Without those conditions, Ddraig won\'t just switch his host for anyone like a bastard obsessed with power.
"I see..." Leo nodded at Ddraig as he felt it quite reasonable reason and he didn\'t care too much about it.
"So, I have answered your question... Can you explain that name?" Ddraig can\'t forget that name, he has a feeling that he\'ll regret knowing about it. But as the Red Dragon Emperor, he has to know who dares to make fun of him.
"... Tell me first, why did you call me a fool?" Leo felt Ddraig wasn\'t actually insulting him but his words have a different meaning as he said " Don\'t expect me to answer your question until you tell me"
Ddraig went silent for a while before he sighed and said "*Sigh*... This isn\'t something you should know now, but... You\'re a fool"
"Everyone in the world... Our world is born to be unique even if there\'s seem to be similarities. Everyone is unique on a very deep level" Leo that was frowning because he was called a fool again calmed down and listened to Ddraig.
"It\'s the thing that defines who we are at the moment of birth and guide us in our decisions" Ddraig stopped for a moment before he said " It\'s called the essence"
"There have been one of those Indian and Chinese gods trying to explain it by Reincarnation or reborn, but essence goes beyond that, as it\'s a thing even they can\'t escape from" Ddraig stopped as he seemed to remember something before he said " Essence it the thing that defines who we are, or what we\'ll be, even our power and how much we can become stronger is usually determined by it"
"It more like an instinct engraved deeply into our souls which neither the gods nor dragons like me, White guy(Albion), Ophis, and Great Red can escape... And that also goes for you" Leo felt that Ddraig is looking through at this moment and nothing was hidden from him. "Essence can variety to an infinite number of things. For example, my domination or White guy(Albion) vanishing, even Ophis infinity, Great red dreams, and you... The Fool"
"I, who harnessed the power of his essence are able to dominate my power to multiple it or transfer it while the White guy(Albion) can vanish the power by dividing it and absorbing it" Ddraig suddenly stopped before he said " From your last conversation, I think you know it, but my flames and the White guy(Albion) poison is also the result of the essence"
"You\'re the Fool which is zero, a blank, a representation of both nothing and emptiness which is also a jack of all trades, but with that, you hold the infinite potential" Leo got surprised now but Ddraig didn\'t finish his words " You\'re a zero which everything starts from. You\'re the representation of innocence, madness, freedom, spontaneity, inexperience, chaos, and creativity"
"A Fool who believes in his ideal and prefers to die than give up on it, which reflects well on you if you didn\'t notice" Leo widened his eyes before he said " Even if you say that... Where do you see the innocence in me?!"
"Innocence means the clean state of mind that rarely gets affected by external factors, but there will be a day when the fool learns something, and this is the inexperience and creativity" Ddraig said calmly, but Leo stopped completely at that moment.
{Doesn\'t get affected... Will learn something...} Leo covered his face with his other hand as the long-lost memories appeared in his head.
{If I understood it faster... If I didn\'t ignore it at first} Leo was able to see himself or his past self standing in front of him, as his empty eyes remind him of every single moment he had in that world and the lesson he learned.
"Hm? What happen to you?" Ddraig noticed Leo condition as he didn\'t respond for a while.
"Nothing..." Leo calmed himself as he pushed his glasses and said " You said this essence affects me a lot... But where?"
"I think you know where..." Ddraig orb glowed slightly while Leo understood what he meant as he said " My Longinus"
"Yes, Annihilation Maker... As a fool, you\'ll pursue freedom, and as the Longinus that reflect their wielders desires, it been affected by that essence of yours and got it freedom. Hahaha" Ddraig laughed a little before he said "The Fool who escaped the shackles of god... Hahahah"
"What?" Leo didn\'t get it this statement. How was he able to escape the creator rules only by his essence but Ddraig said " Your essence guided you when you needed it, and gave you the key which is definitely also related to it"
"Key... Gold Experience? But it doesn\'t have conn-..." Leo stopped his words as he remembered something and said "GER...The Fool... Return to zero"
GER or Gold Experience Requiem is the final form of this stand with the ability to return all will and action to zero, which is a broken power that even bends the reality. Leo realized if he counted as the zero then this wasn\'t a coincident he chooses Gold Experience.
{Now this really reminds me of origin in Type-Moon...} Leo was thinking of how much this is similar to something from the fate series before Ddraig said " And this is also reflected in your crazy actions and thoughts"
Leo remembered his journey in the dragon vein as he went without fear, or when he never felt any guilt by killing or something.
"I don\'t know how did that... Chat Room or what you call it did it... But it slightly activated your essence which makes me think it wasn\'t a coincidence you got that Longinus" Leo felt he\'s getting a lot of shocks today as he remembered the choice he got from this Chat Room and if it was with him or at least that year, then it\'ll know what he\'ll choose.
"I saw other people with the Fool essence, be it gods or other race, but yours is the purest one I have seen which make you and this Longinus the best match" Ddraig sighed before he said " My Longinus is usually the type of easily emotional affected person. Like the previous host with his perverted essence, which makes me think he\'ll create some perverted skills in the future"
{You have no idea} Leo remembered DxD plot and Issei techniques before Ddraig said " As my new host, I\'ll give you a piece of advice"
"Don\'t keep thinking about those things from your memories because as a fool and jack of all trades that\'ll only limit you" Ddraig said in the tone of a teacher as Leo widened his eyes because he realized that he never thought of creating something original.
Leo knows he always been thinking about things from other works and tries to only create them and ignoring the potential of his Longinus.
Ddraig said he\'s a fool, so even if he doesn\'t agree with this nickname, he realized that he has been ignoring the other possibilities.
"I see... Thank you" Leo thanked Ddraig because he taught him something very important today.
"Hm? Well, we\'re stuck together after all" Ddraig was slightly surprised by the thanks from Leo but the next thing surprised him completely " If we\'re stuck together then... Look at this"
Leo sent some of his memory to Ddraig as the orb got dim or a moment before glowing brightly.
"You... Are you serious?" Ddraig asked with disbelieving in his tone, but Leo only remained silent as it was the best answer.
"I know you\'re a madman from breaking the shackles and creating that thing" Ddraig referred to the dragon Leo is creating now before he said "But what you\'re going to do is something that Ophis or the Great Red can\'t save you from, even if they helped you the best they could" Ddraig brought Ophis and Great Red as an example because of the ridiculous thing Leo showed him.
"I never asked for help anyway... Do you know?" Leo stared at the moon in the sky before he said " You were right even if I don\'t want to admit it"
"I learned my lesson a long time ago and I\'ll never repeat my mistakes" Leo closed his eyes slightly as he said " I\'ll never back down even if it meant my death. I\'ll break through it without fear or hesitation, and I\'ll come out with victories because this is me... Or after I got you it became a dragon, right?"
Ddraig remained silent as he was confirming what he heard before he laughed out loud " HAHAHAHAHAAH!!! I can\'t believe it! You\'re really a fool, but well said. This is the existence of the Dragon!! I look forward to that day, partner"
"Oh? Did I pass your test? And I\'ll be grateful if you stopped with the fool thing" Leo raised his eyebrow before Ddraig said " There wasn\'t a test, but you impressed me. And you\'re a fool, you can\'t escape it"
"...." Leo took a deep breath and calmed himself because of how much he was called a fool in these 5 minutes before Ddraig said " Now, tell me about that nickname"
"... Honestly, if you count me as a partner, I need to warn you... You\'ll regret this" Leo gave Ddraig advice like he did with him but Ddraig was stubborn " Regret it? I\'m the Red Dragon Emperor!!"
"Well, you asked for it" Leo shared some of his memories with Ddraig as the memories flowed into the Boosted Gear.
At that moment, Leo can swear he heard a cracking sound from the Boosted Gear as the green orb almost became black.
"T-This is t-true?" Leo heard Ddraig\'s trembling voice as he said " Yeah... It\'s true"
Leo heard the cracking sound again before Ddraig said " P-partner... Here this some memories of the Boosted Gear complete usage"
Leo felt some memories in his head before Ddraig said " I know you can use it perfectly without my help... I need some time now"
"Some time alone... Yeah, just some time to be alone" After that the Boosted Gear orb went back to its colors, but Leo almost heard sobbing sounds before Ddraig left.
"*Sigh* Stay strong" Leo sighed for the great dragon emperor fate before he looked at the moon again.
"...Fool, huh" Leo felt the wind blowing as he raised his hand and looked at the Boosted Gear before he activated it powers.
*BOOST*
Leo felt everything about him doubled at that moment. Physical capabilities or Ki, which made him realize the power of the Boosted Gear.
*BOOST*
After 10 seconds, the Boosted Gear activated his abilities as Leo\'s power increased fourfold. Leo felt this is far away from his limit but he thinks it enough to try something.
Leo spotted a bolder slightly away from him, so he walked to it and summoned Gold Experience.
"USELESS!!" Gold Experience hit the boulder as it glowed with a golden light, but this wasn\'t the end.
Leo put his hand on the boulder before he clenched his left-hand fist and activated the Boosted Gear second ability.
*TRANSFER*
But Leo didn\'t send the power to the boulder, he sent it to his Longinus... The Annihilation Maker.
Dark, very dark light with almost absorbed the light around appeared from Leo\'s arm as it was very different from the usual usage of the Annihilation Maker.
Leo closed his eyes and imagined what he wants to create before the dark light enveloped the golden one.
After 3 minutes, all the light disappeared as the boulder disappeared and replaced with a little thing. The wind that was blowing also stopped at this moment. It was like the wind calmed down.
A small white kitten with a green glow was sitting in front of Leo before it looked at him with its green eyes" Meow~~"
The small cat flew from the ground and circled around Leo as it was carrying a slight breeze wherever it goes. Wind appeared around Leo as he levitated with the cat before it started to nuzzle on his face.
"Yeah, Yeah, you\'re happy, I got it" Leo fixed his glasses because the cat reached to them before he said " Free like the wind, huh"
This small cat is actually a wind elemental that reached the level of spirit. Leo put his own concept as the spirit of nature and Ki, which represents nature that holds wind as an element and made this spirit after a boost from the Boosted Gear.
This wind spirit has the power to control winds and it not just throwing wind blades and such. This cat power is almost called dominating the wind with its versatility.
"Well..." Leo looked at the small cat that didn\'t want to stop before a helpless but a happy smile appeared on his face. This cat is absolutely cute in Leo standards.
But before he did anything else he heard a voice behind him " Hm? What\'re you doing here?"
Leo fell from to the ground as he pushed the cat slightly before he turned and looked at Whitebeard holding his weapons and looking at him.
"... You saw nothing" A dark aura appeared around Leo which made Whitebeard slightly surprised before he said " See what?"
"Nothing... Where have you been, old man?" Leo fixed his glasses and asked Whitebeard.
"I was just looking around then I saw you here smiling with that little cat..." Whitebeard was quite surprised to see such a side of Leo, but at that moment he heard a cracking sound.
Leo that was fixing his glasses instantly destroyed them, as they cracked from everywhere before a dark light flashed and they got fixed.
"You know? Old man..." Leo fixed his new glasses, as he smiled and said " I need to talk with you about something"
"Hm?" Whitebeard raised his eyebrow before Leo said " It\'s very important but before that didn\'t you forget something?"
"What?" Whitebeard didn\'t understand, but when he saw Leo\'s eyes he remembered as he said " Do you think you can do it?"
"Hoh? Why don\'t we try it?" Leo smiled as he said " An agreement is an agreement, and I\'m now challenging you... Edward Newgate"
{What a fighting spirit...} Whitebeard almost saw flames in Leo\'s eyes before he smiled slightly and said " Very well... Pick your place"
Leo smiled when he heard the answer before he said " Follow me"
Wind rotated around Leo by the power of the cat on his head before he floated and flew away.
{I didn\'t see that fighting spirit in a long time} Whitebeard jumped as he used moonwalk to follow Leo {This will be interesting}
However, in Leo\'s head right now {Even if cost me my life I\'ll hit him on his head so hard, he\'ll forget everything he saw!!}
When Leo and Whitebeard left the place, there was another person appeared, and she was holding a... Camera.