Marvelous Shop, Chapter 20

Penemue herself had purple hair and gleaming yellow eyes that were filled with... A definite form of insanity at some level. Granted supposedly the Penemue line was supposed to be the most mentally stable out of the clones that Azazel had made. 

But that idea of what was a sane person was by the metric of the Scapegoat of Heaven, the man who decided that making a gender-bending gun was a swell idea.

A man who has spent the last few millennia studying the great works of his very dead father in the hopes of reaching his level in crafting trinkets of extreme power.

"Hmm, you have some decent muscle tone for a human. More than that, you have... Almost unparalleled compatibility with your draconic augmentations." Penemue mused as she spun around me and took me in at all angles.

She back around to stand in front of me and she smiled before saying with a depth to her voice. "As little as the little bird said... I am Penemue, The Watcher, she who cured the stupidity within men and gave them all equal rights to intelligence, she who created word and paper, allowing man to allow their knowledge and inheritance to become immortal."

I felt D'draig retreat into my soul as Penemue stepped into my personal space, and then D'draig's voice rang out to me in clear warning. [Be careful, partner... This bird's broken mind but whole in wings is imprinting on you.]

'What the hell do you mean imprinting on me?' I thought to D'draig hurriedly as I was locked in place as Penemue's yellow eyes burned gold.

To which D'draig said helplessly. "Pure angels, even the fallen have the ability to make soul bonds. Typically, it's done in having angels protecting prophets or even the fallen falling in love with a mortal or an angel falling in love and falling in the process and doing so. But she is THE Watcher, she who loves humanity the most."

And as Penemue laid her hand on my chest, I felt a searing heat as a symbol formed on the back of Penemue's hand before she sagged a bit in obvious exhaustion.

But as her eyes moved from mine to her hand that had a weird symbol now scarred onto the fair skin of her hand. I heard Raynare say quietly. "That's it? He has a Longinus and some potential, so you just soul bond to him? What the hell is that?" 

I was about to say something along the same fucking lines but as Kalwarner's eyes widened in fear already anticipating something I heard D'draig say rather dryly within my head. 'Whelp she is fucked.'

There wasn't a flare of mana, Penemue's expression didn't turn wrathful or filled with hate.

She just snapped forward moving at speeds my eye's couldn't follow, and then a loud crack rang out as she slapped Raynare into the ground... But in a blur of motion, she caught Raynare's leg that came up with the speed she was slapped down at. So that the fallen didn't shatter my floor or something.

As I could see the force of impact, was not only in the displaced air. But also that Raynare's skin on her leg tore and bled with the force of the stretching as Penemue didn't allow her to fall down as she hovered in the air with her twelve wings out.

'I may have gotten a soul-bonded Cadre who can protect and guide me into gaining strength... But she is fucking nuts!' I thought as I unconsciously took a step back.

Let me take a hunting rifle to a deathclaw again... Hell, let me deal with a hundred deathclaws, they would be far less dangerous than this woman!

Penemue then spoke and her voice was calm as she gently let the stunned form of Raynare lay on the ground. "Don't die because you forgot to breath little bird." 

And that reminder made Raynare gag and begin heavily coughing as she cradled her chest struggled to get air into her lungs that had all their previous air slapped out of.

But Raynare wasn't my real focus as Penemue turned back towards me with a soft smile and I stiffened as Penemue gently took my hand into both of her own and she said softly. "Come Jake, come sit, or even lay down in your bed. I wish to speak with you."

As much as I wanted to cry out to Grayfia to save me and that I would happily join Rias's peerage if she saved me. There was nothing I could do except woodenly lay down on the bed with Penemue humming and laying down beside me as well with her looking into my eye's with those... Hollow yellow eyes.

"So, tell me everything about you. Start from your earliest memories, stories told by your parents, caretakers, tell me your hopes, dreams, and ambitions. Tell me what makes Jake Bariss and individual soul amongst the countless others that have existed."

I swallowed and then with Penemue leaning on her hand as she listened I began sharing this world's version of my history that was implanted in my mind when I arrived. 

It was only with Kalawarner's help that Raynare was able to actually move into my side chair but neither showed any inclination of moving, leaving or otherwise... Or they were unable to leave without Penemue's approval.

Still I explained how I was an orphan and half Japenese with my father being part of the American air base in Osaka and my mother being a native. And so I went on to share the rest of my 'life story' and how I only recently found out about the supernatural world.

"As for dreams and ambitions... I suppose I want to become strong enough that I am not a mere footnote in the list of Boosted Gear wielders. I want to live a long life, have some kids and you know. Have a good life." I finished a bit sheepishly.

But Penemue just shook her head before saying softly. "Having the dream of living well and honest. That is nothing to be ashamed of... Whether it be myself or the inherited memories of the original Penemue. I have seen the results of men with grand ambitions, dreams of dominance."

Her eye's weren't so filled with a barely suppressed madness. Instead they were filled with the weight of memories stretching millenia that were being looked over once again.

"Another Penemue, the one who basically adopted your counterpart in the White Dragon Emperor when she arrived at the Grigori has to deal with Vali's plans for vengance for her earlier suffering in life.

Penemue chuckled with some amuesment at the thought and I asked in confusion. "How many... How many clones of Penemue are there?" I asked in confusion more to myself then to anyone.

But as Kalawarner jolted in place as I realized myself that it was rather sensative information. Penemue herself answered with a bland tone. "Not too many. Even though Azazel can make more of us, the more he takes from original's already tattered spirit he managed to snake up, the more it falls apart. And even though the original's body is locked away in a pocket demensional. It's still decaying."

She shrugged and said calmly. "Not to mention each clone of a Cadre without the handcrafting of our Father will not live too long... The longest living was another Penemue, and she lived only within the library of the Grigory and didn't even last a century before her body began melting even with Azazel's full attention."

Lasting a century for a human was a great life obviously. But to any other angel, fallen, or even devil that had a life span lasting at least ten millenia? 

That was barely a single percent of the supposed life span of the one of the Abrahamic supernatural's beings to say nothing of her having the power of the cadre as well.

"Hmm, in either case. I will help you become strong then, and I will protect you as you make your journey Jake Bariss. Now... In the meantime, I assume you still want to train with the little birds as well?"

At that Penemue elegantly rolled off the bed and both Kalawarner and Raynare stood up at attention as I said slowly. "Yesss? If that is still on the table at least." 

Kalawarner coughed and said a with a wry smile. "Like Penemue would allow you to just run away."

To which Penemue just gave me a searching look at Kalawarner's words. As though considering such a thought before she chuckled and said past a giggle. "Oh? That of course cannot happen. I know exactly where Jake is at all times now. Even should he kidnapped and stolen to another Pantheon's realm... I can find him without fail."

[Partner... She may even be able to track you past the Demensional Gap through the soul bond as such things transcend things just as mere space and time. Never look down on the dogged pursuit of a scorned woman.] D'draig said with a voice filled with the knowledge of such scorned women.

Said scorned woman was obviously the Dragon King- Tiamat.

Though as much as I wanted to say that Penemue coudn't track me down to my home demension. With how DXD did have outer god's and extra demensional being's. I really shoudn't press my luck frankly.

So instead I just exhaled and said more calmly as I might as well just ride the wave and see if there was any benefits to having Penemue being so crazy. "Let's get going then. We are much to do then."

And then with a flare of Penemue's mana a magical circle surrounded us and with a flash we were teleported directly outside of the refurbished but old church that the Fallen had taken over. "Then let us begin your training Jake Bariss... But first, I need to see your combat abilities, and then see your physical limits to see what I am working with."

I looked blankly at Penemue before shrugging and said with a helpless smile as she held out her hands in obvious invitation to throw hands with her. "Alright here I come then."

I formed up my Boosted Gear and I stepped forward to throw a punch even as a boost call rang out.

My fist slapped into her palm that seemingly teleported in front of me, and then as her hand closed around my armored gauntlet. D'draig said dryly. [It was good knowing you for a few days Jake.]

And just to prove his words I felt my helpless smile turn into despair as I heard the metal of the Boosted Gear gauntlet creak and groan as she squeezed around my fist.

"A simple punch isn't the right move Jake... Even a lion hunts a rabbit with it's full strength, to say nothing of the power difference between us. Why are you even testing the waters in this situation?" She tutted with something akin to amuesment.

She pulled me forward and for a moment I thought was going to trip me over her foot or something. Nope instead used her plainly super human strength to slap my stomach and knock the air out of me.

But with her firmly holding me by the boosted gear she just used the momentum of my backwards momentum to make me rise up and as I flew above her... I got a shot down her low cut dress shirt to see alot of her cleavage.

Any joy at the sight however were swiftly destroyed. As Penemue spun around and threw me at high speed across the flat field outside of the church with myself curling up as I slammed into the ground and rolled repeatedly.

"Ow..." I drawled as I sat up to see Penemue slowly walking over towards me with her hands casually at her sides as she walked towards me with her gleaming eye's alight.

I got up and took a breath with D'draig warning me rather bluntly. [Partner, she doesn't want you to hold back in the slightest. Go full throttle and try to kill her. Anything less will just make her angry at you.]

"Alright then... Fuck it!" I took in another deep breath but this time it was to fill my lungs with draconic fire and I saw Penemue's grow a smile of... Appreciation? Before I exhaled a pillar of D'draig's signature golden fire at her. 

Thankfully due to D'draig giving me so many draconic augmentations and transforming several of my organs. My heat resistance was approaching the draconic tier even if I wasn't immune to it, and his flames soul-destroying nature I was actually immune to.

But as the golden flames faded away as I ran out of breath. My face twitched as I saw that the ground ahead of me was obviously burnt slag with no grass remaining. Except for a cone past Penemue as she with one hand created a barrier that blocked the flames.

"The flames of the Red Dragon. Even with coming from a host that isn't even midclass, is dangerous haha." Penenume mused aloud with her waving a hand towards me before she said with amusement. "Well, come on then. We have much more to see, I hope at least."

'I am so fucked.' I thought before the fallen angel instead began walking towards me, and I knew, seeing as I couldn't run even if I wanted to. I just resumed walking towards her as well for the inevitable ass kicking that was to come.